A group of tourists in Andorra accidentally drove their hire car onto a ski slope after blindly following their GPS and ignoring snow-covered roads.
The three women, from Taiwan, only realised something was wrong when their SUV became stuck while travelling up a ski run near Grau Roig.
Images shared online show the vehicle just yards from the ski slopes, surrounded by alpine scenery and a snow cannon, at around 10.45am on January 6.
The group called emergency services after admitting they didn’t know how to fit the snow chains stored in the back of the car.
Rescuers spent more than three hours carrying out a complex recovery operation, using three metal cranes to return the vehicle to the road.
Despite the ordeal, the tourists appeared in good spirits and were seen smiling for photos beside the stranded car as help arrived.
This is not the only time a tourist has landed in hot water after blindly following a GPS recently.
In October, a man was left teetering on a cliff edge in his Porsche after following a supposed GPS ‘shortcut’.
A shocking image shows the vehicle dangling over a steep grassy slope in Saltusio, Italy, after the navigation device malfunctioned and directed the driver through a farm.
The man had been returning home late in the evening when the system suggested a shortcut to his accommodation, local media reported.
Following the instructions, he turned onto a small farm access road that quickly narrowed into a dirt path.
The tourist continued for about 300 meters before realising it was a dead end.
While attempting to turn around, the Porsche lost traction on the wet grass and slid forward toward the drop, stopping just inches from the edge.
Fortunately, the driver escaped unharmed and walked up the road to call for help.
On his way, he met the farm’s owner, who had spotted the stranded car. The farmer alerted emergency services, and firefighters soon arrived.
The rugged, slippery terrain made recovering the SUV a complex operation.
Firefighters stabilised the vehicle with cables and winches before hauling it to safety.
Rescuers said the man was lucky to survive, as the car was only steps away from plunging into the woods below.
In 2023, Google maps misdirected families into a long line of dozens of cars on narrow track in the desert between southern California and Nevada.
The path went nowhere and was too narrow for them to turn around. The day-long nightmare ended after each car reversed back on their tracks.
In a more tragic example that occurred in 2022, a non-updated Google Maps route recommendation resulted in the death of a family man who drowned in North Carolina, US, after he attempted to drive over a bridge that had collapsed nearly ten years before.
