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I don't want to know the emergency number in case I'm IN a different country. What I want to know is, if I am, say, in France, and I know someone in Sweden needs emergent services, how can I call, from France, the emergency services in Sweden? Forgive me if that sounds confusing, but I'm surprised nobody has asked this question, even if it may be stupid. I'm wondering if I can call help for someone in a different country, if I know they need help and am the only one able to call, maybe by adding a country code. Would that work?

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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it has nothing to do with travel.
    – David Richerby
    Apr 16, 2017 at 15:03
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    In contrast I have the opinion that it has very much to do with travel. If I am abroad (and I must be for some unspecific, important reason abroad), I know there is someone home who is sick or in an unstable mood and I agreed that they make a call if they need help and then this person calls me and I cannot reach them back, it is very important to know how to reach home emergency as fast as possible.
    – Thorsten S.
    Apr 16, 2017 at 20:18

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Commonly, emergency phone numbers like 911 in the US or 112 in most European countries can not be called from abroad. Even within the country, emergency calls are usually handled completely different in the phone network, allowing the calls to be connected with priority, routed to the closest dispatcher centre and passing on details about the caller like e.g. the address of a land line or the approximate location of a cell phone.

That does of course not mean that emergency services like police, fire departments or ambulance services can't be called from abroad, you just have to use their regular phone numbers. For example, the emergency number in Sweden is 112 and can be dialled from within Sweden and should only be used for imminent emergencies. The regular (non-emergency) phone number for the police is 11414 and will connect you with the closest police station. When calling from abroad, you can reach the Swedish police under the number +46 77 1141400.

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  • Will I be able to call the local emergency number (US - 911) using a foreign mobile number (India) when I am in US?
    – Gopi
    Oct 29, 2019 at 7:18
  • @Gopi Comments are not for asking new questions. If you have a new question, please ask one instead.
    – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
    Oct 29, 2019 at 10:58
  • Ok. Here it is travel.stackexchange.com/questions/149032/…
    – Gopi
    Oct 29, 2019 at 11:18
  • Its a good answer for this specific case but I do wonder about the broader case. What of a German in Spain or an American in Australia or a Chinese person in France or....
    – the other one
    Nov 1, 2019 at 16:06
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Most countries can pass calls between them. The European Emergency Number association produces a database that is available to bone fide emergency control rooms. So call your local emergency number and see what they can do.

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    Do you have any links/contact details of the European Emergency Number association?
    – JoErNanO ♦
    Mar 7, 2017 at 16:03

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