Woman rescued after wrong Google Maps navigation takes Audi into ditch in Navi Mumbai; tech giant denies fault

Mumbai: A woman took a wrong turn and drove her high-end car into a ditch in Navi Mumbai while following directions on Google Maps and was later rescued, police said on Sunday.

The incident took place at around 1 am on Friday in Belapur area of Maharashtra's Navi Mumbai township.

The woman, who was the sole occupant of the Audi car, instead of taking the Bay bridge, took a wrong turn after being guided by Google Maps and reached Dhruvtara Jetty, and the vehicle fell into a ditch, a Belapur police official said.

After being alerted, police reached the spot.

The police, with the help of a marine security team, their boat and local authorities, later rescued the woman, the official said.

The woman, who runs a salon business in Navi Mumbai's Kharghar area, was heading home to Ulwe from Belapur in her car when the incident occurred, the official said.

Google has denied that the accident was caused by Google Maps. In an official statement, the tech behemoth said, "We wish to clarify that the road under the bridge is not mapped for navigation in Google Maps, and our internal review confirms that Maps did not recommend a route through it. The only route Google Maps provides in this area is through the Belapur Bridge over the Panvel Creek. We built Google Maps with safety and reliability in mind and will continue to focus on delivering a high quality navigation experience to people everywhere.”