Three young men tragically died after their car, guided by Google Maps, plunged into the Ramganga River from an under-construction bridge in India.
According to police, the fatal accident happened around 10:00 am on Sunday on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling to Dataganj from Bareilly.
GPS navigation was being used by the vehicle driver who was directed to proceed through the damaged section of the bridge.
People have noted that the absence of safety barriers or warning signs on the under-construction bridge that may have prevented the foreseeable disaster.
However, some reports say that the car was moving at high speed, due to which the driver was unable to bring the vehicle to a halt when the bridge ended. The car plunged 25 feet into the Ramganga with its three passengers, all of whom died on the spot, as per reports.
As soon as the news came in, Police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Badaun’s Dataganj police station rushed to the scene, where they recovered the vehicle and the dead bodies.
The bodies were then sent for post-mortem. The deceased were identified as Kaushal, Vivek, and Amit, who were returning after attending a wedding.
Reactions
Social media users raised concerns over the risks of relying solely on navigation technology.
This tragic incident highlights the critical shortcomings of #GoogleMap . Google must prioritize improving its algorithms and warnings for hazardous routes to prevent such devastating consequences.#GoogleMapsFail #NavigationSafety pic.twitter.com/EQdP7BInsO
— Shubhajit Biswas (@vshubhajit) November 24, 2024
RIP @googlemaps
— Kahat Kabeer (@kahatkabeera) November 24, 2024
India is not for beginners
Once #GoogleMap drove me to a dead end in Mumbai, I got late for the flight and had to rebook@elonmusk please use your own map in #tesla before you launch in India or just fuckin buy @googlemaps and fix it.https://t.co/2SVRvabWEp pic.twitter.com/X5a2IPrFVC
