Telangana Man Dies After GPS Malfunction in Saudi Desert

Hyderabad:A Karimnagar-based man, who was working in Saudi Arabia as a technician, died in the Rub' al Khali desert, the world’s largest sand expanse, where he had lost his way following a GPS malfunction, along with a Sudanese national.

The man, identified as 27-year-old Shahbaz Khan, was working as a tower technician with a telecom company in the Al Ahsa province in Saudi Arabia. On August 19, Shahbaz and another employee, a Sudanese national, set out to attend a service call in their car.

The GPS malfunctioned halfway through and the duo lost their way and went deep into the Rub’ al Khali desert. They ran out of fuel and their mobile phones ran out of power. Shahbaz and the other employee went in search of people and help, but eventually died due to starvation and dehydration.

The Rub’ al Khali desert, also known as the Empty Quarter, holds nearly half as much sand as the Sahara desert, and covers over 5.83 lakh square kilometres.

The Saudi police, after being informed by the telecom company that two employees have gone incommunicado, searched the desert and found their bodies. The family members are requesting the government to repatriate Shahbaz’s body back to India.