Paraguay Launches Emergency App That Automatically Determines Geolocation - Police

BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) - Paraguay becomes the first South American country to launch an emergency mobile application that would automatically locate the position of a person in need, the National Police said on Tuesday.

"Imagine you do not know where you are, or the situation is so stressful that you cannot say where you are," according to a video presentation of the application posted on the police's Twitter.

"The national 911 emergency response system is being updated to provide faster resolution of critical situations by being able to recognize the geolocation of the person who contacts 911. The 911 application will also be available as an alternative for reporting emergencies."

The launching of the application makes Paraguay the first country in South America to have the technology that allows for the automatic geolocation of emergency calls.

According to the video, the application will allow users to contact emergency services by pressing a panic button, and the system will automatically recognize the location of the incident. App users will also be able to contact call centers of emergency services using text messages, as well as send photos and make video calls.

The application will be launched in a trial mode in the Paraguayan capital Asuncion and will further be available across the country.