A group of four tourists from Hyderabad narrowly escaped a serious accident when the car in which they were travelling plunged into a canal on Saturday early morning at Kuruppumthara in Kerala’s Kottayam after navigating with Google Maps.
The accident occurred around 3 am at Kadav Bridge near Kuruppanthara. The tourists were travelling from Munnar to Alappuzha, relying on Google Maps for directions. The car was completely submerged in the canal. The passengers were rescued by police and locals.
The vehicle was pulled out with the help of locals at around 11 am on Saturday. Due to heavy rains, the canal was overflowing and the driver could not identify the canal as he assumed that it was a water-logged road.
“I mistook the canal for a water-logged road. I was driving at a speed of 10 km per hour. We realized the accident only when the backside of the vehicle started sinking in water,” the driver said.
Although it is an accident-prone area, the authorities had failed to install a signboard or crash barrier at the site.