Man blames Google Maps for falling into frozen river
- The incident took place at night in Minneapolis city in the state of Minnesota, US
- Recently, Google celebrated the app's 15th birthday by announcing a slew of new features including a fresh icon design for the app
Perhaps, one of the most useful apps for any person with a smartphone is the Google Maps app as it provides precise directions to places, almost everywhere in the world. And to deliver this service smoothly, the app constantly keeps updating itself.
Only recently, Google celebrated the app's 15th birthday by announcing a slew of new features including a fresh icon design for the app. There have been certain glitches that are seldom reported by users but this one person is seemingly infuriated by the app as he claims that Google Maps directed him to cross the frozen Mississippi River on foot.
According to the local news media, the incident took place at 3:00 am in the night in Minneapolis city in the state of Minnesota, US. The man apparently tried walking through the frozen river before falling through the ice. He was partially submerged and rescued by the firefighters later. When asked as to what made him walk through the river, he claimed that Google Maps instructed him to cross the river. The man suffered a mild case of hypothermia, the report notes.
The report also stated that the mishap happened near the Stone Arch Bridge. The fire department said that the app reportedly told him to use the nearby bridge that’s pictured in the Street View image above to cross the river rather than instructing him to walk across the ice.
The man blaming Google Maps for the wrong direction is unlikely as navigation maps, especially one of the most preferred ones, would only show mapped roads to direct you to your destination. However, glitches in the app can happen at situations where real-life app directions do not exactly math to your desired destination, and may end up taking you to a different location, but surely, not via a river body. With several updates on Google Maps, the app is fully equipped to even let you know if there are any road blocks due to accidents or natural disasters etc, as well as provide you a re-route to reach your venue.
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First Published:11 Feb 2020, 10:30 AM IST
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