Yisroel R.

Hundreds of New Yorkers have been unable to reach emergency operators Tuesday morning after a major failure at one of New York City’s two 911 call centers.

The problem affected one of the city's emergency call center for roughly seven hours, from around 3:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. During that time, approximately 1,700 calls failed to properly connect, accounting for about one-third of the calls routed to the call center.

City officials estimated that as many as 400 people may actually have been unable to connect with 911, with the larger number of failed calls also including automated alarms and repeat attempts from callers who tried again after not getting through.

In many of the affected calls, the caller and 911 operator were unable to hear each other, creating a serious problem for anyone trying to report a medical emergency, fire, crime, or other urgent situation.

New York City operates two emergency call centers, one in the Bronx and its primary center in Downtown Brooklyn. The Bronx facility is intended in part to serve as a backup, though it was not immediately clear whether affected calls were successfully redirected to the Brooklyn center.

Officials have not yet determined what caused the failure. The incident has raised concerns over the reliability of the city’s emergency communications system, where even a short delay in reaching 911 can become critical. The incident remains under further  investigation.