UP Shocker: How GPS Misled Car To Under-Construction Bridge Over River Claiming 3 Lives

Bareilly: In an unfortunate incident, three people lost their lives after the navigation system they were allegedly using led them to an under-construction bridge and causing them to fall into a Ramganga river in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly District.

The tragic incident was reported at around 9.30 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road in Faridpur in the district when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, said police. The trio died on the spot after the fatal accident

According to police, the front portion of the bridge had collapsed earlier this bridge due to floods but the information was not updated in the system.

"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," news agency PTI quoted Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam as saying.

The GPS app reportedly guided the passengers to the under-construction bridge which lacked any safety barriers or warning signs, which added to the danger and led to the fatal fall.

The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said. There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.

Soon after receiving the information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Badaun's Dataganj police station were rushed to the scene immediately. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.

The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem.

Dense Fog Lowered Visibility

It was learnt that the vehicle was being driven at high speed, which did not allow the driver to assess the situation. Meanwhile, the weather was also foggy which lowered the visibility in the area and the driver could not spot the danger ahead.

Two of the three deceased have been identified as Amit and Vivek while efforts were on to identify the third victim. As per police, Amit and Vivek were residents of Imadpur in Farukkabad. Their families have been informed about the accident. Further investigation into the matter is underway.

Fog Leads to Accident 

In a similar case of fog lowering visibility, two accidents happened in UP's Firozabad district on November 14. In one incident, 20 passengers of a roadways bus sustained injuries, and another half a dozen were injured in another accident.