What number do I call in an emergency?
Short answer
110 for police, 119 for fire or ambulance. Both are free and work from any phone.
Two numbers, split by what happened
110 reaches the police. 119 reaches the fire service, which also dispatches ambulances — there is no separate medical number to remember.
Both are free, both work from a mobile without a local SIM, and both work from a payphone without payment. If you are not sure which one you need, the operator will redirect you rather than hang up.
The trap if you are visiting more than one country
110 is the police number here. In South Korea, 110 is the number for non-emergency public service enquiries, and the police are on 112.
Two neighbouring countries, the same three digits, entirely different desks. If your trip covers both, this is the one pair of numbers worth writing down rather than half-remembering.
When it is not an emergency
A 24-hour visitor hotline runs every day of the year for problems that are urgent to you but not a matter for police or ambulance — a lost passport, a sudden illness, a train you cannot work out at midnight.
It is staffed in several languages, which is the practical difference from calling an emergency line and struggling. Save the number before you need it, not while you need it.
Good to know
- 119 covers both fire and ambulance — there is no third number for medical
- Emergency calls connect without a local SIM and without credit
110 police, 119 fire, 120 ambulance, 122 traffic accidents. Calls are free, and 110 answers in eight languages.
191 is the general emergency line and 1669 gets an ambulance. As a visitor, the number to actually memorise is 1155 — the Tourist Police.
Three numbers, split by service: 113 police, 114 fire, 115 ambulance.
112 for police, 119 for fire or ambulance. 110 is not an emergency number here — it is for ordinary public-service enquiries.
110 for police, 119 for fire and ambulance. If your phone has no usable signal, 112 still connects.