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Three men were killed when the car they were travelling in fell off an unfinished flyover in Bareilly, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
The incident took place on November 24 when the victims were travelling from Gurugram to Bareilly to attend a wedding. They relied on Google Maps to reach the venue.
The car ran over a bridge and fell about 15 meters into the Ramganga River, a dry river. Locals found the damaged car the next morning along with three dead people.
Police arrived at the scene and found a Suzuki Maruti Wagon R, possibly a rental car, badly dented and damaged in the river.
Earlier this year, a flood caused part of the bridge to collapse and repairs have been delayed for months.
Google has expressed its condolences to the families of the victims and said it is working closely with authorities to investigate the incident.
To investigate, Cartoq reporters added locations with possible routes across the bridge. After careful inspection, they found that the suggested route did not show the route across the bridge on the satellite view, and an alternative with a similar estimated time.
However, when using normal mode, the app shows the bridge in red, with several red segments broken up. These red segments don't exactly indicate that the bridge is broken or unusable, but rather suggest "heavy traffic congestion" or "road closure." That could be why drivers are still taking this route.
Family members of the victims condemned the officials involved in the accident and questioned why the bridge had no barriers or signs to prohibit vehicles from passing.
TB (summary)