Man Following Google Maps Drives Into Dam, Drowns

A man from Maharashtra following Google Maps navigation drove into a dam where he drowned and sadly died as the individual didn’t know how to swim. Satish Ghule, the 34 years old deceased, was allegedly following Google Maps at Ahmednagar’s Akole town according to the authorities. The incident occurred late at night around 1:45 AM on Sunday, he was driving with two men for a trek towards Kalsubai, which is Maharashtra’s highest peal. The other two men have been identified as Guru Shekar and Sameer Rajurkar who were all based in Pune.

Deputy Superintendent of police Rahul Madhne said, “While driving towards Kalsubai for trekking, they had lost their way and sought guidance from Google Maps, when they accidentally drove into the water,” Senior Inspector Abhay Parmar of Akole police station was quoted as saying. “There is a bridge there, which is operational for eight months. But for four months after the rainy season, the water of the dam is released and the bridge goes underwater, due to which it cannot be used,”
 

The driver of the vehicle did not know the route so he turned on Google Maps, however, the navigation showed a way that included a bridge which remains underwater for about 4 months. This is due to water being released from the Pimpalgaon dam and this information wasn’t updated on Google Maps which led to no warnings. Also, the PWD department had put up any signs or notices before the bridge to warn the people. Since the locals have information that the bridge gets submerged for four months, they do not use it but travellers are not privy to this information. During monsoons, the bridge remains closed due to the rise in the water levels. 

After the driver drove into the submerged bridge, the occupants managed to rescue themselves by swimming to the bank. However, Satish Ghule, the driver didn’t know how to swim and could not rescue himself. Locals rushed to the spot after the incident to save the driver, but it was too late. They managed to pull the vehicle from the water and rescued the driver’s body as well the next day. As of now, there is no information on why the driver did not stop after the water level started to rise though. The driver was driving a Toyota Fortuner, and may have trusted the SUV's capabilities more than expected.