A trio of tourists from Taiwan found themselves in a precarious alpine predicament after their satellite navigation system directed their hire car straight onto a snow-covered ski slope in Andorra.
A Costly Blind Faith in Technology
The incident occurred on the morning of January 6, near the Grau Roig ski area. The three women were following their car's GPS instructions when they ignored the obvious signs of snow-covered roads and drove their SUV onto what turned out to be a ski run. They only realised their grave error when the vehicle became hopelessly stuck in the snow, just metres from the active pistes and surrounded by alpine scenery and a snow cannon.
Online images from around 10.45am captured the stranded 4x4 in its bizarre location. The group admitted to emergency services that they did not know how to fit the snow chains that were stored in the back of the vehicle, leaving them no choice but to call for help.
Complex Three-Hour Crane Rescue Operation
What followed was a major recovery effort. Rescuers spent more than three hours executing a complex operation to retrieve the car from the slope. The challenging terrain required the use of three metal cranes to carefully lift the vehicle and return it safely to the road.
Remarkably, despite the ordeal and the potential danger, the tourists remained in good spirits. They were even seen smiling and posing for photographs beside their stranded hire car as help arrived.
A Recurring Theme of Navigation Misadventures
This is not an isolated incident of a GPS mishap leading travellers into serious trouble. In a strikingly similar event in October, a driver in Italy was left teetering on a cliff edge in his Porsche after blindly following a suggested 'shortcut'.
That driver, returning home late in the evening, was directed by his malfunctioning navigation device onto a small farm access road in Saltusio, which quickly narrowed into a dirt path. After continuing for about 300 metres, he found himself at a dead end. While attempting to turn around, the luxury car lost traction on wet grass and slid perilously forward, stopping just inches from a steep drop into woodland below.
The unharmed driver walked to find help, encountering the farm's owner who alerted emergency services. Firefighters faced a difficult recovery on the rugged, slippery terrain, having to stabilise the Porsche with cables and winches before hauling it to safety. Rescuers later stated the man was extraordinarily lucky to survive.
These episodes serve as a stark warning to drivers, especially in unfamiliar or mountainous regions, to use common sense and local knowledge over slavish devotion to digital maps. Checking weather conditions, preparing appropriate equipment like snow chains, and understanding that a plotted route may be unsuitable for the season are crucial steps to avoid a holiday disaster.
