GPS ‘misguides’ 2 young doctors to death

KOCHI: It was dark, raining heavily and an unfamiliar road. To navigate better, Dr Advaith, who was at the wheel of the Honda Civic past Saturday midnight, turned on GPS. Soon they came to a waterlogged stretch of road and as the map pointed straight ahead, the car waded into the water.

Except that it was not the road but a river, and the car started sinking. Dr Advaith (29) died and so did his colleague Dr Ajmal Asif (29). Three others in the Civic managed to extricate themselves and were rescued. The incident occurred at 12:30am on Sunday in Gothuruth area of Kerala’s Ernakulam district. Dr Advaith had turned 29 on Saturday and the five of them were returning to Kodungallur from Kochi where they had gone for some birthday shopping.

According to police and Ashok Ravi, senior manager of Kodungallur CRAFT Hospital where the doctors worked, Dr Gaziq Thabseer, one of the survivors, revealed that the accident occurred after GPS rerouted them. “Yes we were using GPS. However, since I was not driving, I can’t confirm if it was a technical glitch of the application or a human error,” he told TOI.

“It was Dr Advaith’s birthday, and the doctors went to Kochi to celebrate it with a male nurse in our hospital. Dr Ajmal’s fiancée was also part of the celebration,” Ravi said.

During monsoons, the GPS algorithm guides drivers to roads with less traffic but experts say less busy roads are not necessarily safer. “Also, one should always remember to select the mode of travel on the map. A four-wheeler can’t go the way a bike goes,” an expert said.

Dr Ajmal was a native of Thrissur district and Dr Advaith was from Kollam. Those who survived are Jismon and Tamanna, besides Dr Thabseer, who works in the cardiology department of CRAFT Hospital. Jismon is a nurse in the hospital and Tamanna is an MBBS student in Palakkad. All three have been admitted to a Kochi hospital. Dr Advaith’s mortal remains were shifted to Kalamassery Medical College and Dr Ajmal’s body was moved to Thrissur Medical College for autopsy.