Cell service — including 911 calls — unavailable for Telus customers in parts of Fraser Canyon

Telus customers living in or travelling through parts of the Fraser Canyon were unable to use their cell phones to call 911 Tuesday, after a construction accident damaged a network cable.

E-Comm 911 posted on social media about the outage just after noon, saying wireless service was unavailable in several communities along Highway 1.

“Life-threatening emergency? Dial 911 in case service has been restored. No service? Head to nearest ER/doctor or police/fire department if able,” the provider wrote on X.

Telus, in a statement, said there were “temporary disruptions” to service in and around Hell’s Gate, Kanaka Bar, Boston Bar and Spuzzum. The cause of the outage was a “third-party construction accident” and the goal is to have service fully restored by 7 p.m., a spokesperson for the company wrote in an email.

“We know how critical connectivity is for our customers, and we are working to restore services as quickly as possible,” the statement concluded.