The 911 system across Massachusetts is restored after going down for hours

BOSTON (AP) — The 911 system across Massachusetts was restored Tuesday after going down for several hours, which made it impossible for anyone to reach emergency services through the call number.

The Massachusetts State Police announced around 3:45 p.m. that the system had been restored and that people could resume calling emergency services. They didn't provide any details behind the cause of the outage.

It was unclear how many communities were affected by outage, said Elaine Driscoll, director of communications and policy at the state’s Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. It first was reported by several law enforcement agencies after 1 p.m.

At the time of the outage, Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said it was important for residents to know alternate ways of getting help, particularly given the hot weather heading toward the Northeast. He advised the public to contact local police departments if necessary.

“In addition, if you’re having any issues that are medical related, or EMS or fire-related, you can go and pull your local call box, that’s the red light boxes that fire departments have on local street corners, to also get medical attention that way,” he said.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said residents shouldn’t worry about calling the correct number or facility for their emergency, but to just reach out to their nearest authorities.

“If you are experiencing an emergency, if you find your way to police, fire or EMS, we will make sure that you get to the right place,” she said.

Over at Tufts Medical Center, officials said operations were not impacted by the outage.

“Our internal emergency number for Public Safety remained active and functional during the outage and appropriate responders were able to be reached this way from within the hospital,” Jeremy Lechan, the media relations manager for the hospital said. “We are very glad to hear that the issue has been resolved and people in need outside the hospital can once again get the medical assistance they require.”

Officials at Massachusetts General Hospital also reported no problems associated with the outage, and a spokesman for the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association said he wasn’t aware of issues.

The Massachusetts disruption caused confusion in other northeastern states, where some residents also got notifications on their phones. But authorities in Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York and Vermont all said their systems were operational.

“We are aware that some individuals in Vermont have received wireless notifications about the Massachusetts event,” Barbara Neal, executive director of the Vermont Enhanced 911 Board, said. “The official reason for that is unknown but it may be related to individuals having signed up for an alerting system in Massachusetts or having been at or near the Massachusetts border when the wireless alert was issued by Massachusetts.”

Several years ago, Massachusetts suffered sporadic 911 outages. At the time, it was blamed on outages from Louisiana-based CenturyLink, which affected some Verizon customers. In April, workers installing a light pole in Missouri cut into a fiber line, knocking out 911 service for emergency agencies in Nebraska, Nevada and South Dakota.

Associated Press Writer Holly Ramer in Concord, N.H., contributed to this report.

This alert screen, seen on a mobile phone in Providence, Rhode Island, shows a notification alerting users that the 9-1-1 emergency system is currently down. The 911 system across Massachusetts went down Tuesday afternoon, June 18, 2024, making it impossible for anyone to reach emergency services. (AP Photo/Michelle Smith)

This alert screen, seen on a mobile phone in Providence, Rhode Island, shows a notification alerting users that the 9-1-1 emergency system is currently down. The 911 system across Massachusetts went down Tuesday afternoon, June 18, 2024, making it impossible for anyone to reach emergency services. (AP Photo/Michelle Smith)

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbian police on Thursday banned a festival that promotes cultural exchange with Kosovo, in a sign of growing nationalism and government pressure on liberal voices in the Balkan country.

A police statement cited security concerns as the reason to ban the Mirdita, dobar dan event that was due to start later on Thursday in Belgrade with a theater show from Kosovo.

Serbia does not recognize the 2008 declaration of independence by its former province, which is overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian. The Mirdita, dobar dan festival, whose name means “hello” in Albanian and Serbian, is organized by youth groups from Serbia and Kosovo seeking to bridge ethnic divisions created by a 1998-99 war and the postwar tensions.

The police ban came after several dozen right-wing extremists gathered outside the festival venue on Thursday, seeking to prevent its holding while waving Serbian flags. Police said they wanted to prevent “danger to the security of people and property and to public peace and order on a larger scale.”

A statement said that the anti-festival gathering is also banned.

Liberal groups criticized the police decision.

“With the ban on ‘Mirdita,’ Serbia and its institutions sided with the hooligans and the deepest ethno-nationalist darkness,” prominent human rights activist Natasa Kandic said on X. “No longer can a debate about reconciliation or a protest against glorification of war criminals be organized in Serbia. A black hole.”

The Movement of Free Citizens party urged the Interior Ministry to revoke the ban also saying the authorities have sided with the extremists who are opposed to regional reconciliation.

Several government officials have sharply criticized the festival in the past several days, describing it as anti-Serb. While the festival has been held alternatively in Serbia and Kosovo for the past decade, this year's ban in Serbia illustrates a general toughening of the government's stance toward its critics.

Earlier this week, authorities banned a Bosnian actor and author from entering Serbia, saying he was a threat to national security, and deported him back to Sarajevo, Bosnia's capital. In the past months, Serbia's independent and investigative journalists have complained of increased legal pressure and threats.

Serbia is formally seeking entry into the European Union but the increasingly authoritarian government of populist President Aleksandar Vucic has steadily drifted away from the EU's pro-democracy values while nurturing close ties with Russia and China.

Right-wing extremists gather on a street in central Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, June 27, 2024. Serbian police on Thursday banned a festival that promotes cultural exchange with Kosovo, in a sign of growing nationalism and government pressure on liberal voices in the Balkan country. The police ban came after several dozen right-wing extremists gathered outside the festival venue, seeking to prevent its holding while waving Serbian flags. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

Right-wing extremists gather on a street in central Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, June 27, 2024. Serbian police on Thursday banned a festival that promotes cultural exchange with Kosovo, in a sign of growing nationalism and government pressure on liberal voices in the Balkan country. The police ban came after several dozen right-wing extremists gathered outside the festival venue, seeking to prevent its holding while waving Serbian flags. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)