Hyderabad Tourists’ Ford Endeavour Plunges Into River After Following Google Maps In Kerala: Rescued [Video]

We all use Google Maps to commute to new places. People use this piece of technology because it is very convenient and allows them to reach their destination without asking or disturbing anyone. However, we have been receiving many reports lately where Google Maps has misguided travelers, taking them through different or shorter routes and causing trouble. One such tourist from Hyderabad drove their Ford Endeavour SUV into a swollen river after following Google Maps in Kerala.

𝐇𝐲𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐄𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐫 𝐏𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐊𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐚 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐩𝐬

In the early hours of Saturday, a group of four tourists from Hyderabad experienced a harrowing ordeal… pic.twitter.com/WW1eUiVHXk

— Sudhakar Udumula (@sudhakarudumula) May 25, 2024

The accident happened in Kerala’s Kuruppanthara in Kottayam district late on Friday night. A family from Hyderabad, who were tourists, was traveling towards Alappuzha district as part of their trip. The road they were traveling on was covered with water due to the heavy rainfall that the whole state has been experiencing lately.

The family, unfamiliar with the roads, was blindly following Google Maps and drove the car directly into the river. There were four members of the family, including a woman, in the Ford Endeavour when this accident happened. All four members of the family managed to escape from the car. Thankfully, a police patrol vehicle was passing through the area when this happened. The officers, along with the locals, helped them escape.

The person driving the SUV said, “At around 2-3 pm, it started raining very heavily. The road was waterlogged. I was going very slow, at around 10 km per hour. But suddenly, the front tires went deep into the water, and the vehicle lost control. Then the rear tires 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 SUV was completely submerged in the river. The undercurrent and flow were extremely heavy due to the heavy rains in the area. The man driving the SUV said that they were traveling from Munnar to Alappuzha and took a route shown to them by Google Maps. Local residents mentioned that this is not the first time such an incident has happened in the area.

There are reports in which locals have mentioned that the signboard on the road is too small for road users to see, often misleading them to the river. The Ford Endeavour SUV was later pulled out of the river using a crane.

Not The First Time

This is not the first time we have come across a case like this where Google Maps created issues. Surprisingly, most of these incidents are reported from South India. Earlier this year, we came across a case where a Toyota Fortuner followed the route suggested by Google Maps and ended up stuck on a staircase.

How many of you have been mislead by Google Maps 😳 appears to be a recurring problem.. i can't even count the number of times I've been directed to a dead end road 🫨

Really pity this guy in Nilgiris near Ooty #TamilNadu for trusting Google maps that led him through the… pic.twitter.com/cYGLxKtxtX

— Nabila Jamal (@nabilajamal_) January 29, 2024

Similarly, in Telangana, a truck driver named Shiva and his assistant/helper, Mondaiah, both hailing from Tamil Nadu, got misled into a reservoir in the middle of the night. The driver and cleaner were not aware of the local routes, which forced them to use Google Maps. They realized the mistake only when the engine of the truck stopped after driving into a deeper section of the reservoir. Both of them immediately jumped out of the truck and swam to the shore. The truck was rescued using a crane the next day.