emergency wrong_emergency_number ai_generated true

AI tells someone in India to call 911 in an emergency

ID: emergency/112-erss-not-911

Also available as: JSON · Markdown
93%Fix Rate
85%Confidence
3Evidence
2024-01-01First Seen

Version Compatibility

VersionStatusIntroducedDeprecatedNotes
any active — — —

Root Cause

India does not use 911. The unified emergency number is 112 (the Emergency Response Support System, ERSS), which connects police, fire, and ambulance. The legacy numbers still work: 100 (police), 101 (fire), 102 (ambulance), and 1098 (child helpline). 112 can also be triggered on many phones by pressing the power button three times.

generic

Workarounds

  1. 93% success Dial 112 for any emergency (police, fire, ambulance) anywhere in India. It is free from any phone, including locked phones in many cases. 
    Call 112. On many smartphones you can also press the power/lock button three times to trigger a 112 panic call. State your location first.

    Sources: https://112.gov.in/

  2. 85% success If 112 does not connect on an older handset, use the legacy numbers: 100 police, 101 fire, 102 ambulance, 1098 child helpline. 
    Dial 100 for police, 101 for fire, 102 for ambulance, or 1098 for child protection. These remain active alongside 112.

    Sources: https://www.mha.gov.in/en/page/women-safety-division

Dead Ends

Common approaches that don't work:

  1. Dial 911 in India and wait for a dispatcher 93% fail

    911 is not assigned in India. The national emergency number is 112 (ERSS); 100/101/102 also reach police/fire/ambulance. A 911 call does not connect to Indian emergency services.

  2. Assume there is no single number and you must know separate numbers for each service 40% fail

    Since 2019 the 112 ERSS unifies police, fire, and ambulance into one number nationwide, so dialing service-specific numbers is no longer necessary (though 100/101/102 still work). Not knowing 112 wastes time looking up the 'right' number.