Google Maps has removed the proposed Road of Bones route to Russia after a Russian driver froze to -50 oC and died.
Google is now advising motorists who want to travel from the Russian city of Yakutsk to Magadan and vice versa, to add another three hours to their journey, following a different route, since two motorists who followed its previous advice Google Maps died on an abandoned road, at -50 Celsius.
https://twitter.com/RT_com/status/1337915930240802817
After a weekly search, the body of an 18-year-old was found in a snow-covered car on an unused highway near Oymyakon, the coldest permanent settlement in the world. Miraculously, his partner survived and was taken to a nearby hospital where he was treated for frostbite. The radiator in their vehicle had a malfunction.
Οι Χάρτες Google είχαν προηγουμένως συμβουλεύσει τους οδηγούς να πάρουν το λεγόμενο Road of Bones (δρόμος των οστών), το οποίο, σύμφωνα με τοπικές πηγές, δεν χρησιμοποιείται εδώ και χρόνια. Αν και προσφέρει τεχνικά μια πιο άμεση διαδρομή, μειώνοντας τον χρόνο οδήγησης μεταξύ των πόλεων Yakutsk και Magadan σε 31 ώρες αντί 34, η έλλειψη οδικών υπηρεσιών, όπως καθαρισμός χιονιού και η σχεδόν ανύπαρκτη κίνηση, το καθιστά εξαιρετικά επικίνδυνο σε καταστάσεις έκτακτης need, especially in winter.
A road of bones. The Kolyma Highway in eastern Siberia once delivered tens of thousands of prisoners to the work camps of Stalin's gulag. The ruins of that barbaric era are still visible today, although the elements are slowly erasing them. https://t.co/Jn0EFiJBn3 pic.twitter.com/wc6f05Kigf
- The New York Times (@timestimes) November 22, 2020
Our story comes from the Russian agency RT. Στη Ρωσία, το λογισμικό πλοήγησης της Google είναι λιγότερο δημοφιλές από το Ρωσικό Yandex Maps και το Navigator. Οι δύο αυτές applications έχουν περίπου 50 εκατομμύρια μηνιαίους users. Many believe they offer much better local knowledge than the US tech giant. In fact, some Twitter users say that this incident serves as further proof why drivers should use "only Yandex Maps in Russia!"
Officially named the Kolyma Highway, the "Bone Road" earned its formidable name as it was built using prisoners in forced labor, and thousands died during its construction during the Soviet era.
The teens found themselves in an area of 420 kilometers known as Old Summer Road, which was deserted. The area is known as an extreme challenge for motorcyclists and adventurers looking for four-wheeled thrills.
