Major problems hit KPN telephone services on Tuesday afternoon, putting the emergency 112 number out of action and disrupting the company’s fixed link and mobile networks.

Police are calling on people who need emergency help to dial 088-6628240 instead, or to report to a police station. Extra police patrols have also been drafted in to increase the number of points of contact between the emergency services and the public.

People experiencing problems in using their mobile phones should switch off their 4G services to see if this helps, KPN said.

Phoning via Whatsapp, Facetime and Skype may also be possible as these use internet rather than the 4G network, where the problem appears to have originated.

KPN says it is working towards a solution for the disruption, which began around 4pm but has not said when the problem may be fixed.

Dutch railway company NS has also urged people to avoid Utrecht’s central railway station, where services have been disrupted for ‘various reasons’.

‘We are recommending you avoid Utrecht Centraal for safety reasons,’ NS said in a statement. ‘Communication has been made more difficult by the KPN telephone breakdown.’

Mega verstoring op #UtrechtCS 😔 #geentreinennaarhetzuiden @NS_online Komen er bussen? Met airco graag 😇 pic.twitter.com/8A2BTKZIsc

— Lisette Kaptein (@lieskaptein) June 24, 2019