If you are planning a trip or a route to the mountains, you have probably asked yourself: Can you call 112 without coverage? Is there a signal in the mountains?
112 is the free telephone number indicated as the only number for citizen assistance in an emergency on the European continent. Fortunately, it is possible to call without the coverage of our operator, i.e. by accessing the coverage of other companies.
However, this could be a problem in the mountains, as there are very high or remote areas where there is no signal from any company. For example, in the autonomous community of Catalonia there is more than 30% of land without coverage.
In these cases, the best option is to have a telephone that works via satellite. This can be found in mountain refuges or cabins that are usually scattered in areas where there is no coverage in the mountains. There are also radios in some huts.
Also note that you can call 112 via a shortcut in case your mobile phone keypad is locked, without having to enter the PIN code, or even without having to have a SIM card in the device.
What to do when calling 112
Before going to a mountain where you may not have coverage, Axarfusion recommends that you keep these things in mind so that it takes as little time as possible for emergency services to arrive as soon as possible.
When we do not have coverage from our own operator, but we do have access to another operator, we will only be able to make voice calls to this number. In other words, it is not possible to send SMS.
Once we call or contact 112 we must:
- Make calls to 112: As soon as we contact the emergency services, they will ask us for our identity, the identity of the victims, what has happened, where it happened, what the injuries are like, and any information that may be useful, such as whether it is possible to park a helicopter or if it is an area where a car cannot access.
- Send SMS: In the event that we cannot make a voice call, we can send a message to a person so that they can contact the emergency service. This person must be reliable and trustworthy as we are talking about an emergency and we have to be as quick and efficient as possible. In the message we should include all of the above, as well as any other information we consider relevant. It would also be advisable for this person to confirm that they have received the message.
- If you have mobile data: If you have an internet connection you can share your location directly with the emergency service and also provide all the above information, and if possible you can also send videos and photos so that they can see more clearly where they are going.
