Three men in a car were killed when Google Maps sent the driver over a bridge, which had not been completed, and they plunged 30 feet into the river below in India
India: Three die after car hurtles into the Ramganga River
Three men gave died after their car’s sat-nav sent them flying off a 30-feet high bridge that had not been completed in India.
Google Maps is understood to have directed their vehicle off the unfinished bridge last Saturday, according to officials. They were heading home after a wedding when the incident happened at around 2.30pm local time.
The victims, named as Kaushal Kumai, Vivek Kumar and Amit Kumar, were en route to Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, from Gurgurgam, southwest of New Dehli when the vehicle careered off the end of the bridge into the Ramganga River.
The bodies of the three men were reportedly trapped inside the car and they were not located until around 9.30am the following day.
Police investigating found that it was the GPS which had guided the vehicle over the bridge with the driver seemingly unaware that repairs to the bridge had not been completed. In 2022, floods had caused the front part of the bridge to collapse into the river, but Google Maps had not been updated to reflect this change.
Local Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam pointed out that there was a lack of safety barriers or warning signs near the under-construction bridge which also contributed to the tragic incident. But the car was also reportedly travelling at high speed before it plummeted into the river.
Law enforcement units from the Dataganj police station in Badaun, Bareilly, and Faridpur arrived at the scene and began the grim task of retrieving the bodies and the vehicle from the water, Mr Shivam reported. The incident is still under investigation and post-mortem examinations are being carried out on the bodies.
The Times of India has reported that four engineers as well as an employee for Google Maps were being questioned by police. And family members have reacted angrily to the lack of warnings on the road about the uncompleted bridge. “The officials must be held accountable for this negligence. Why was the bridge left incomplete and why were there no safety measures in place?” a relative told The Hindustan Times.
A Google spokesperson told The Mirror: “Our deepest sympathies go out to the families. We’re working closely with the authorities and providing our support to investigate the issue.”