AT&T makes 'significant progress' restoring phone, 911 services cut off by Nashville explosion

AT&T said Sunday morning it had made strong progress restoring emergency 911 and telephone services in the Southeast that were interrupted by the massive Christmas Day explosion in Nashville.

"Significant progress was made in our restoration efforts overnight,' the company said in a statement. "Power was restored to 4 floors of the building. So far, more than 65% of mobility sites affected by the explosion on Friday have been restored.  Yesterday, more than three feet of water was pumped out of the building’s basement, but access to the lower floors of the building is still limited."

The company said it was still using 17 portable cell sites to aid communications, including for first responders, and was bringing in two dozen trailers with more equipment to get hardline telephone services restored. Officials said damage to the building was extensive when an RV suspected of carrying a bomb unleashed a massive explosion in the neighborhood near AT&T's facilities.

"We continue to assess the damage to the facility and have confirmed that the building’s commercial power connections are damaged and offline," the company said. "We are working with the local power utility on repairs. In addition, there is other significant damage to the building from the blast, including to the elevators, some beams/columns, and the building’s façade."