Palakkad: Never trust Google Maps completely, two truckers learnt the hard way at Attappady.
Their trust on Google Maps has now held up traffic after one of the heavy vehicles overturned at seventh curve and the other got stuck.
The drivers, both non-Keralites, followed the instructions provided by Google Maps en route to Coimbatore from Kozhikode. They took a left turn at Nellipuzha to hit a shortcut to Coimbatore, thinking it would help them save much fuel.
The drivers felt something amiss as they drove their multi-axle, 16-wheelers on the route as suggested by Google Maps. The road got narrower, and a return seemed impossible since they could not find enough space. They managed to squeeze in their trucks up to the Eighth Curve, where one of the vehicles overturned. The other one, meanwhile, got stuck at Seventh Mile around 3.30 am.
The incident blocked the road totally, leaving no space even for two-wheelers. Police, forest officials and local residents are trying to clear the road. The crew of the overturned truck suffered minor injuries.
Vehicular traffic on the ghat section could be restored only after shifting the trucks using cranes, which would take several hours. Authorities suggested motorists to take the Aanakkatti route. Vehicles have been stopped at Aanamooli and Mukkali.
Local residents, meanwhile, blamed the absence of boards warning heavy-vehicle drivers against using the stretch for the traffic hold-up.
