Weird prank sounds on serious phone call

Hi,

I’m in an area heavily impacted by Hurricane Helene and so is my best friend, but she’s up in the mountains and her town is much smaller. She says the whole town is operating off of one cell tower since the storm, and that’s why her service is spotty.

Anyway she finally got stable service yesterday and called to check in. Conditions are bad there and she was crying. As she was talking, I heard a farting sound. I thought it was her sniffling or blowing her nose. Then a bit later it happened again and she said, “I’m sorry, does someone have gas there?” ☠️

I said, no, the sounds are coming from your end. She denied this and then we heard brief applause and cheering. I said, “Has someone hacked this phone call? That’s hilarious.” And then we heard a rimshot (ba dum tssss).

We laughed and decided to end the call so other people in her town could get through to their friends and family. But any ideas what in the world that was?? Could it have something to do with so many people being on one cell tower?