Crew accidentally cuts Indiana hospital's phone lines

ROCHESTER, Ind. (AP) - A northern Indiana hospital lost much of its telephone service for hours when a construction crew accidentally severed a bundle of fiber optic and copper lines.

The Rochester Telephone Co. crew sliced through at least 500 pairs of copper wire and at least 20 fiber optic cable lines Wednesday morning, affecting phone service at the city's Woodlawn Hospital and other Rochester businesses.

Hospital President John Alley tells The Rochester Sentinel the hospital lost about half of its phone lines for a few hours, but he said the hospital quickly adapted to the situation until repairs were made.

Rochester Telephone President Joe McCarter says repairing the cut wires extended into Wednesday evening and required meticulous work because each of the lines had to be spliced back together and tested.