Details of the incident

The men were traveling from Gurugram to Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, India. The source writes that the accident occurred at night, so they probably did not have time to notice the end of the bridge in front of them and as a result, they fell to their deaths, Channel 24 reported, citing Indian newspaper The Economic Times.

Video footage available online shows a group of onlookers watching the horrific scene from the edge of the suddenly broken structure, meters above the ground. Cell phone records show the group was using Google Maps just before the crash, according to local authorities.

Families of the victims are angry at the lack of security measures and demand that the criminals be brought to justice.

They fell off the unfinished bridge while checking the route on Google Maps. The road was supposed to be closed, but it wasn’t. Maps should not have shown the bridge was completed,
– says Pramod Kumar, a relative of one of the men who died in the disaster.

This isn’t the first time Google Maps directions have caused a car accident. Last year, the family of a tragically killed North Carolina driver sued Google for negligence, claiming the app advised him to drive off a bridge that collapsed in 2022. At the time, the family claimed that the accident could have easily been prevented by updating the navigation system. The bridge collapsed nine years ago and has remained in ruins ever since.

As for the latest tragedy, there are still many questions. While it is clear that the construction company’s negligence played a major role in not closing the road and allowing cars on the unfinished bridge, many people are asking the question: Should Google also be held responsible for the deaths? The bridge collapsed a few months ago. Does a company need to track these itself and make adjustments in Maps? Media reports do not indicate whether local authorities notified Google about changes in traffic.