Bangladesh’s 999 Emergency Service is Finally Now Available in English 

After an eternity of anguish, the English version of the Bangladesh emergency service “999” has come finally to the rescue of foreigners. This new service enables foreign diplomats, officials from the UN agencies and traveling tourists visiting Bangladesh to get help in emergencies in English. 

To access the service, the correct calling number is 999 and the caller must click “2” in order to use English language support. The service was introduced to ease contact that foreigners sought in the form of police, fire or ambulance services.

Particularly on February 13th, Additional Deputy Inspector General Mohammad Tabarak Ullah made the announcement underscoring how critical was the initiative in assisting emergency response to those who speak none of the Bengal tongues. 

It is an offshoot of a greater initiative to ensure front line emergency service delivery to foreigners working in diplomatic missions, UN agencies and other developmental NGOs. A duty desk has been established with personnel trained to receive English speaking callers on all shifts for better delivery of service.