BlackBerry Blackout, Are you hit by it? Know why it happened [Update]

RIM issued statements regarding the messaging and browsing delays.

11th October 5:18 AM (IST) – We are pleased to report that BlackBerry email services have been restored. Some people may continue to experience delays with instant messaging and browsing services and our technical teams are working to return services to normal as quickly as possible. We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience and we’ll continue to update you as new information becomes available.

11th October 9:06 PM (IST) – Some users in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina are experiencing messaging and browsing delays. We are working to restore normal service as quickly as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

12th October 2:04 PM (IST) – The messaging and browsing delays being experienced by BlackBerry users in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, Brazil, Chile and Argentina were caused by a core switch failure within RIM’s infrastructure. Although the system is designed to failover to a back-up switch, the failover did not function as previously tested. As a result, a large backlog of data was generated, and we are now working to clear that backlog and restore normal service as quickly as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience, and we will continue to keep you informed.

We will keep on updating this articles, as and when more information will be available.

Are you a BlackBerry user? Any thoughts?

Update 1 : 12:09 PM IST – Some users in India are reporting that the BlackBerry services have started to work for them.
Update 2: 12:28 PM IST – Many users are still not able to access the BlackBerry services.
Update 3 : [Official Statement] We’re aware many BlackBerry customers are experiencing intermittent service delays. Restoring full service is our number one priority. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience. We will provide a further update as soon as more information is available.
Update 4 : We continue to work on clearing the message backlog in order to eliminate delays. Thank you for your patience.
Update 5 : [Official Statement] Hoax chain messages have been circulating on BBM asking users to send broadcast messages to all of their contacts. This message did not originate from RIM, and we recommend that you ignore it and please do not forward. Thanks for your support.
Update 6 : RIM CIO Robin Bienfait shares a progress update on BlackBerry service: http://tlk.tc/oEEB