Australian telecommunications giant Optus said Monday it had suffered a network outage that prevented calls to emergency services, just over a week after a similar interruption that has been linked to four deaths.

Optus -- one of Australia's top telecoms providers -- said the outage on Sunday impacted thousands of people in New South Wales and lasted more than nine hours.

The firm said it had "confirmed with police that all callers who attempted to contact emergency services are OK."

"Optus continues to investigate the cause," it added.

This month Optus said it suffered an outage that impacted 600 people across South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory for at least 10 hours.

The outage prevented calls to emergency services and has been linked to four deaths.

Austr

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