New Delhi: In yet another case of Google Maps navigation going awry, a group of tourists travelling in a car lost its way in the forest near Madigunji in Khanapur taluk of Belgaum district. There were four occupants, including women, in the vehicle. They had left for Goa from Andhra Pradesh.
While using the Google Maps, the car, carrying the four, took the wrong route in the Western Ghats forest area. It was middle of the night and the car went 10 km deep into the Khanapur forest. With no mobile network and no way to navigate out, the family were reportedly forced to spend the entire night in their car. Fortunately, the police found and rescued the persons from the dense forest.
Spike in similar incidents
There are growing incidents of vehicles going wayward while following the directions shown in Google Maps. Last week, three persons had a narrow escape when the car in which they were travelling fell into a canal after it navigated a flooded section of the road as it went by the directions shown in Google Maps in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh. The police teams reached the site immediately and pulled out the car with the help of crane.
Police said that the three men were going to Pilibhit. The Kalapur canal has eroded the road near the Barkapur village intersection, which resulted in the car overturning into the canal.
Around 8 days before this incident, in Bareilly itself, a fatal accident occurred because of wrong direction shown on Google Maps. Near Muda village, on the road from Dataganj in Badaun to Faridpur in Bareilly, there is an incomplete bridge. Three people going in a car lost their lives when the driver, following Google Maps directions, went along the route. As soon as the bridge ended, the car plunged 20 feet.
Apart from wrong Google Maps directions, the incident also brought to the fore negligence on the part of the PWD, because no barriers or warning indicators were placed despite the bridge being unfinished. A case has been filed against five engineers since the accident, and the police have also issued a notice to Google Maps. A Google spokesperson expressed deepest sympathies to the families. “We’re working closely with the authorities and providing our support to investigate the issue,” he was reported to have said.
In 2023, in a similar tragic incident in Kerala, two doctors lost their lives when their car plunged into the Periyar river while they were following a navigation app.
