3 dead as car plunges into UP river: How GPS error led them to an unsafe bridge

Police suspect that the driver of the car was misled by the navigation system, which led them to the unsafe route

Three persons died on November 24 when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge.

The mishap took place around 10 am when the victims were travelling on the Khalpur-Dataganj road, from Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly to Dataganj.

Police suspect that the driver of the car was misled by the navigation system, which led them to the unsafe route. The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, they said.

“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,” Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.

There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, he added.

Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam further informed.

The circle officer said that bodies have been sent for post-mortem and investigation into the matter is underway.