Group of four travelling in car get lost in Khanapur forest using Google Maps, rescued by cops

BELAGAVI: In yet another instance of Google Maps misleading users, four people, including two women, who were travelling in a car, lost their way in the thick forest of the Western Ghats near Madigunji in Khanapur taluk and had to spend the night there. On Friday, they were rescued by the Khanapur police.

The four people were travelling from Andhra Pradesh to Goa using Google Maps. While they were travelling through the forest around midnight, they came to an abrupt stop after the road ended at the edge of a drop when they were about 10 km inside the forest.

The group then dialled the emergency number 112 and a search party, including police and forest personnel, used a drone to locate them and rescue them on Friday morning. The police then escorted them to the main road and sent them on their way to Goa.

Speaking to media persons, Belagavi SP Bhimashankar Guled said it is not advisable to use Google Maps while travelling through forests.

“It is safer to seek directions from the police or locals. The Khanapur police have done a terrific job in locating the occupants of the car within half an hour of receiving the phone call. The occupants of the car hail from Ujjain in Uttar Pradesh and called the emergency number after spending 10 hours in the forest”, he said.