112 works across the EU, usually without credit and often without a SIM. About half of all emergency calls in Europe now go to it.
Say the place first
If the call drops after one sentence, the place is what lets them start. Say where you are before you say what happened.
Modern phones help: since 2022 every smartphone sold in the EU must support Advanced Mobile Location, which sends your position to the emergency centre automatically, usually accurate to within 100 metres.
One catch worth knowing abroad: most countries can receive it, but only a handful have confirmed it works for roaming visitors. So be ready to read out coordinates yourself. Parta shows yours on the first screen, with no signal needed.
Then, in this order
- What happened, in one sentence. A fall, a collapse, a person who has not arrived.
- How many people are hurt, and how many are with them.
- Is the person conscious and breathing.
- Anything you know about them: age, conditions, medication, allergies.
- Weather and visibility where you are, and whether a helicopter could see you.
- The number to call back on, and how much battery it has.
While you wait
Keep the phone free and stay where there is signal. Make the person warm and still. Do not move anyone with a head, neck or back injury unless they are in danger where they lie.
If you are in a group, send someone to a visible point to wave the helicopter in. And if you have a card in Parta, open it: the answers to the medical questions are already there.
Parta is not an emergency service and this is not medical advice. Call the local emergency number, and follow what they tell you.