Five students from a private college in Cuttack, Odisha, found themselves stranded in a dense forest near Dhenkanal for 11 hours after Google Maps directed them off-course during their return journey from Saptasajya temple.
Sujitya Sahu, Surya Prakash Mohanty, Subhan Mohapatra, Himanshu Das, and Arakshita Mohapatra had set out on their bikes to visit the hilltop temple on June 30. After exploring the temple and Vishnu Baba’s mutt, they relied on Google Maps for their route back.
However, the navigation app led them deeper into the Saptasajya forest, leaving them disoriented by early afternoon. Exhausted and without food, they found themselves in a restricted area called Bhuashuni Khola by 5:30 pm, compounding their predicament.
After failed attempts to find their way out, one of the students managed to contact the police for help. A rescue operation coordinated by the Dhenkanal police and forest department ensued, deploying teams from multiple directions to locate and rescue the stranded students.
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“We wanted to visit the temple. We crossed the temple step by step to the top of the hill and learned from Google Maps that a lovely location was there. However, after moving there, we found no proper route back except subways. We mistakenly reached Bhuashuni Khola, where visitors are banned, and couldn’t find the way out,” one of the students recounted.
Fortunately, the authorities successfully rescued the group, bringing an end to their harrowing ordeal in the dense forests of Saptasajya.
This incident underscores the risks associated with relying solely on navigation apps in unfamiliar terrain, highlighting the importance of caution and preparedness during journeys.
