Bad weather keeps Labrador internet offline

People in Labrador are still offline after a fibre cable in northern Quebec snapped, cutting internet service to the region, Bell Aliant said Tuesday.

Countless homes and businesses across Labrador have been disconnected since 1 p.m. AT on Monday. Isabell Robinson, a company spokesperson, said bad weather in northern Quebec is to blame.

"Heavy rains, mudslides in that area and, as a result, some of our fibre cable was damaged and that's what's been providing the impact to the service to our customers," she said.

Robinson said the bad weather continued to hamper repair efforts this morning. She said crews have now been able to access the site and repairs are ongoing.

Bethanne Pinksen, a specialty store owner in Labrador City, N.L., told CBC News the internet interruption has thrown a wrench into holiday sales.

"I was actually checking a customer in and it was taking forever and forever, because I usually have a fast machine, and then I looked down and all my music was gone, my internet was out and my debit machine was out," said Pinksen.

Like many others, Pinksen is still waiting to be reconnected.

Robinson said service is slowly coming back online, but said it's unclear exactly how many people are still being affected and for how much longer they will remain without service.

Crews will remain on site throughout the day to try and fix the problem.