On 23 November, a three-member family drowned on that day when their vehicle was swamped into the Ramganga River from an unidentified and broken bridge on the Bareilly-Budaun border.
In a tragic incident, three men drowned after their car plunged into the Ramganga River in Badaun after allegedly navigating the same route using Google Maps on an unmarked, broken bridge.
The police have lodged an FIR against four public works department officials and others for this accident. They have also widened their probe to include an unknown regional officer of Google Maps in the FIR.
While calling the incident a result of sheer negligence on the part of the PWD, locals said the presence of barricades or danger signboards on the broken bridge could have saved the three lives.
A Google spokesperson said in a statement, “Our deepest sympathies go out to the families. We’re working closely with the authorities and providing support to investigate the issue.”
On November 23, three men, who were driving to a wedding in a Wagon R while following a route suggested by Google Maps, plunged into the Ramganga River from an incomplete bridge, which had collapsed earlier due to floods.
The victims, including two brothers, Vivek Kumar and Amit from Farrukhabad, died instantly, while the third victim was identified as Amit, who was from the Mainpuri district. They were travelling from Noida to Faridpur in Bareilly for a wedding. The accident happened at the Bareilly-Budaun border.
The villagers saw it in the river and immediately reported it to the police. “Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the GPS. As a result, the driver was misled and did not realise the bridge was unsafe,” said circle officer Ashutosh Shivam.
