Singtel’s Optus investigating emergency hotline outage that led to death of three in Australia
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The telecommunications company said the technical failure has been rectified and that welfare checks with the three affected households are ongoing.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SINGAPORE – Singtel’s Australian subsidiary Optus is investigating a series of emergency call failures after carrying out a network upgrade.
The Australian media reported that three people died
Optus “apologises unreservedly for this failure”, read its media statement in Singtel’s bourse filing on Sept 19. A number of customers could not get through to emergency services in their time of need, though normal calls were still connecting during this period.
This technical failure has now been rectified, said Optus.
Optus added that welfare checks with the three households where a member has died are ongoing.
Its chief executive officer, Mr Stephen Rue, said: “I want to offer a sincere apology to all customers who could not connect to emergency services when they needed them most. And I offer my most sincere and heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the people who passed away. I am so sorry for your loss.”
He added: “What has happened is completely unacceptable. We have let you down. You have my assurance that we are conducting a thorough investigation and once concluded we will share the facts of the incident publicly.”
Optus also said it will cooperate fully and transparently with all relevant government agencies and regulatory bodies while the company investigates this matter further.
Shares of Singtel rose 1.4 per cent, or six cents, to close at $4.41 on Sept 19, before the announcement. THE BUSINESS TIMES
