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| Damaged cable leaves Shetland cut off from mainland | Damaged cable leaves Shetland cut off from mainland |
| (31 minutes later) | |
| Communications to Shetland have been severely disrupted after a subsea cable was damaged. | |
| Police have declared a major incident after the south subsea cable between the islands and the mainland was cut. | Police have declared a major incident after the south subsea cable between the islands and the mainland was cut. |
| The force said phones, internet and computers were not usable and that officers were patrolling to try to reassure residents. | The force said phones, internet and computers were not usable and that officers were patrolling to try to reassure residents. |
| Repairs to another cable connecting Shetland and Faroe are ongoing after it was damaged last week. | Repairs to another cable connecting Shetland and Faroe are ongoing after it was damaged last week. |
| MP for Orkney and Shetlands Alastair Carmichael told the BBC he had raised the issue with the UK government, but understood it could be days before communications were restored. | MP for Orkney and Shetlands Alastair Carmichael told the BBC he had raised the issue with the UK government, but understood it could be days before communications were restored. |
| He said the priority was fixing the issue but that resilience would also need to be looked at in future. | He said the priority was fixing the issue but that resilience would also need to be looked at in future. |
| Homes and businesses are affected across the isles, which has a population of about 23,000. | |
| The BBC has heard reports that many shops unable to take card payments. | |
| Meanwhile Highlands and Islands Airports told the BBC that Sumburgh Airport was "operating as normal", but would advise passengers to contact Loganair for further updates. | Meanwhile Highlands and Islands Airports told the BBC that Sumburgh Airport was "operating as normal", but would advise passengers to contact Loganair for further updates. |
| Serco NorthLink Ferries confirmed they did not anticipate the problem would have any impact on sailings. | |
| A BT Group spokesperson said: "Due to a break in a third-party subsea cable connecting Shetland with the Scottish mainland, some phone, broadband and mobile services are affected. | A BT Group spokesperson said: "Due to a break in a third-party subsea cable connecting Shetland with the Scottish mainland, some phone, broadband and mobile services are affected. |
| "Engineers are working to divert services via other routes as soon as possible and we'll provide further updates. Our external subsea provider is also looking to restore their link quickly. | "Engineers are working to divert services via other routes as soon as possible and we'll provide further updates. Our external subsea provider is also looking to restore their link quickly. |
| "Anyone who needs to call 999 should try their landline or their mobile, even if they don't have signal from their own mobile provider. We're sorry for any inconvenience." | "Anyone who needs to call 999 should try their landline or their mobile, even if they don't have signal from their own mobile provider. We're sorry for any inconvenience." |
| An outage is affecting some landlines, mobiles and internet on Shetland. In an emergency you can try calling 999 even if you don't have a signal. We have extra patrols out and about in case of an emergency More: https://t.co/GXwOmiDAX5 pic.twitter.com/vhYvW7RmNI | |
| Emergency services have had to implement temporary backup arrangements. | Emergency services have had to implement temporary backup arrangements. |
| Police Scotland said it was working with partners including the Scottish Fire and Recue Service and HM Coastguard to bring additional emergency support to the island. | Police Scotland said it was working with partners including the Scottish Fire and Recue Service and HM Coastguard to bring additional emergency support to the island. |
| Ch Insp Jane Mackenzie told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that police officers would be more visible on the island in the meantime. | Ch Insp Jane Mackenzie told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that police officers would be more visible on the island in the meantime. |
| She said: "We're still trying to work to establish the full extent of the problem - we know there are some telephone lines working, 999 lines are believed to be working and some mobile networks are still working. | She said: "We're still trying to work to establish the full extent of the problem - we know there are some telephone lines working, 999 lines are believed to be working and some mobile networks are still working. |
| "So anyone calling 999 should be able to do so from a mobile phone. What we would ask is if you have an emergency you should first try a landline or mobile to call 999. | "So anyone calling 999 should be able to do so from a mobile phone. What we would ask is if you have an emergency you should first try a landline or mobile to call 999. |
| "If that doesn't work, you should flag down an emergency service vehicle that isn't using their blue light or attend either a police station, hospital, fire or ambulance station to report the emergency." | "If that doesn't work, you should flag down an emergency service vehicle that isn't using their blue light or attend either a police station, hospital, fire or ambulance station to report the emergency." |
| Two cable problems 'rare' | Two cable problems 'rare' |
| Ch Insp Mackenzie urged the public not to use phone lines for non-urgent calls and to check on elderly or vulnerable people more frequently as assistance alarms may not be operating effectively. | Ch Insp Mackenzie urged the public not to use phone lines for non-urgent calls and to check on elderly or vulnerable people more frequently as assistance alarms may not be operating effectively. |
| The cable that was damaged between Faroe and Shetland last week will be repaired on Saturday, according to Faroese Telecom's head of infrastructure Páll Vesturbú. | The cable that was damaged between Faroe and Shetland last week will be repaired on Saturday, according to Faroese Telecom's head of infrastructure Páll Vesturbú. |
| He said: "The damage is affecting most of telecom services to Shetland. There are some services still working but we will try to establish more services during the day if that's possible. | He said: "The damage is affecting most of telecom services to Shetland. There are some services still working but we will try to establish more services during the day if that's possible. |
| "We expect it will be fishing vessels that damaged the cable but it is very rare that we have two problems at the same time." | "We expect it will be fishing vessels that damaged the cable but it is very rare that we have two problems at the same time." |
| How do subsea cables work? | |
| Modern submarine cables use fibre optic technology and are typically as wide as a garden hose, according to telecoms market research firm TeleGeography. | |
| It explains lasers on one end fire at extremely rapid rates down thin glass fibres to receptors at the other end of the cable. | |
| These glass fibres are wrapped in layers of plastic - and sometimes steel wire - for protection. | |
| Cables lie on the ocean floor, while nearer to the shore they are buried under the seabed for additional protection. | |
| The firm said "considerable care" is taken to make sure cables avoid fault zones, fishing zones, anchoring areas and other dangers. |