Operators of the Special Telecommunications Service (STS) handled 10,248,377 calls last year (by 90,000 fewer than in 2021), of which emergencies represented 57.82 percent, the STS informs, according to Agerpres.

The number of foreign language emergency calls was by 16 percent higher in 2022 compared to the previous year, at 24,383 compared to 20,944 in 2021. The number of 112 calls placed in Ukrainian and Russian increased to over 1,000 in 2022 compared to fewer than 50 in 2021.

„Last year, the operators of the 112 emergency call service of the STS handled emergencies in various foreign languages, provided translation support during emergency medical care interviews and interventions, search and rescue operations in the mountains near the border or in cooperation with the local authorities and those of neighboring countries. Each operator is fluent in at least one international language, including English, French, Spanish, Ukrainian, Hungarian, Italian, German, Turkish, Russian, Greek and Bulgarian,” the STS informs.

Out of the total of 10,248,377 calls received last year, 42.18 percent were non-emergencies, representing requests for road traffic or railway service information, taxi and food delivery orders, notifications regarding pensions or various public services, as well as other requests for which no emergency intervention was necessary.

The number of non-urgent calls was by approximately 1.5 percent higher compared to 2021, but more than one percentage point less compared to 2020. Most of the emergency cases handled last year were transferred to the Ambulance Service (51.36 percent), followed by the Police (23.35 percent), the Mobile Emergency Resuscitation and Extrication Service (18.05 percent), the Gendarmerie (5.12 percent) and other agencies (2.11 percent).

The counties with the highest percentage of emergencies compared to the total number of registered calls are: Bucharest-Ilfov – 66.41 percent, Alba – 66.24 percent, Cluj – 66.16 percent. The counties with the highest percentage of non-urgent calls compared to the total number of calls placed with the respective 112 call center are: Gorj – 64.86 percent, Mures – 58.03 percent, Covasna – 55.70 percent.

New features have been added to the Apel 112 mobile app, which can be currently used in Romanian as well as in English, French, German, Hungarian and Ukrainian.

The cases handled in 2022 by the 112 emergency service include that of a Ukrainian man fleeing war, who attempted to enter Romania in October, in dark, rainy and low-visibility conditions and got lost in the mountainous area of the northern Suceava County, or that of a 19-year-old Ukrainian woman who had been turned over to human traffickers. Both cases were handled successfully and the callers were rescued and taken to safety, the STS reports.

February 11 marks the European Day of the Single European Emergency Number, which citizens of all 27 EU member states use to call for help from specialized intervention agencies: the ambulance, firefighters, police, gendarmerie. In Romania, the same number is used to call the mountain rescue services.

Agerpres