The company said the problem occurred when it deployed a faulty update to computers running Microsoft Windows.

But hours after the problem was first detected, the disarray continued and escalated.

News outlets in Australia where telecommunications were severely affected were pushed off air for hours.

A large crowd of travelers waits in multiple lines at an airport check-in area, with numerous suitcases and bags, under a high-ceiling terminal

There are going to be deaths because of this.

Its inevitable, Bore said.

Weve got so many systems tied up with this.

A person sits on the floor by the boarding gate 81 of United Airlines. A boarding sign and an empty customer service desk are visible

The company did not respond to a request for comment.

We’re investigating an issue impacting users ability to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services.

CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts.

A train with a digital display reading "NOT IN SERVICE" at a station platform

Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted.

This is not a security incident or cyberattack.

The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed.

Busy airport terminal with numerous travelers moving through check-in areas. The background shows various check-in counters and digital screens displaying flight information

Meanwhile, governments, officials and companies across the world scrambled to respond.

The issue was causing inconvenience for the public and businesses, he added.

Airlines and railways in the U.K. were also affected, with longer than usual waiting times.

The Dutch carrier KLM said it had been forced to suspend most of its operations.

The chaotic morning coincided with one of the busiest days of the year for Schiphol.

In India, Hong Kong and Thailand, many airlines were forced to manually check in passengers.

An airline in Kenya was also reporting disruption.

While the outages were being experienced worldwide, Australia appeared to be severely affected by the issue.

Hospitals in several countries also reported problems.

Britains National Health Service said the outage caused problems at most doctors offices across England.

Some hospitals in northern Germany canceled all elective surgery scheduled for Friday, but emergency care was unaffected.

Israel said its hospitals and post office operations were disrupted.

The New Zealand banks ASB and Kiwibank said their services were down as well.

Kurtenbach reported from Bangkok.

Associated Press journalists around the world contributed.This article originally appeared onHuffPost.