\n<\/p>\n
Internet and phone services in Orkney and Shetland have been disrupted because of damage to a subsea cable. <\/p>\n
Shetland Telecom said the Shefa-2 cable between Orkney and Banff sustained damage at about 03:00. <\/p>\n
The switchboard at Balfour Hospital in Kirkwall is currently down, with patients asked to call a mobile number instead. <\/p>\n
The cable, which links Orkney, Shetland and the Faroe Islands to mainland Scotland, was last damaged three years ago in an incident thought to have been because of a fishing vessel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Communications in Shetland were severely disrupted in October 2022 when the south subsea cable between the islands and the mainland was cut.<\/p>\n
Police declared a major incident with landlines and mobiles unusable. <\/p>\n
At the time, BBC News heard reports that many shops were unable to take card payments.<\/p>\n
The scale of the current incident is still being investigated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n