Hyderabad/Kottayam (Kerala): Using Google maps to navigate resulted in a tourist group in Hyderabad driving into a stream swollen with water near Kuruppanthara in this south Kerala district. The group members are residents of Miyapur, according to police.
A four-member group – Koushik, Yashwanth, Madhan and Abhi, all residents of Miyapur – were on the way to Alappuzha from Kottayam when the incident occurred. “We took the assistance of Google map route as we were confused over the road while heading towards Alappuzha,” one of the tourists, seeking anonymity said.
Of the four persons - Yashwanth was driving a Ford Endeavour SUV, a visibly shaken tourist said, adding that the incident occurred around 3 am on Saturday.
According to him, the road the group was travelling on was covered by water overflowing from the stream due to heavy rains and since they were unfamiliar with the area, they drove right into the water body while navigating using Google maps.
“At around 2-3 am, it started raining very heavily. The road was waterlogged. I was going very slow at around 10 kms per hour. But, suddenly the front tyres went deep into the water and the vehicle lost control. Then the rear tyres also went in and the vehicle started floating forward. We quickly pulled down the windows and jumped out. We somehow managed to safely reach the shore,” the tourist explained.
Kaduthuruthy police station Dhanapalan K told Deccan Chronicle that all the four tourists were rescued with the help of villagers, who responded quickly after alerting the police control room (PCR). Yashwanth also called the PCR seeking help.
With the help of villagers, a nearby police patrolling unit rushed to the spot and rescued the tourists. The tourists’ vehicle was completely submerged under the water, he said, stating that the SUV was pulled out of the stream using a crane later in the day.
Meanwhile, residents of the area said such accidents happen there during the rainy season when the road gets submerged. This is not the first such Google map-related accident reported in Kerala. In October last year, two young doctors died in a car accident which occurred after they allegedly followed directions on Google Maps and fell into a river. Following the incident, the Kerala police had issued cautionary guidelines for using the technology during the monsoon season.
