Using Apple's new maps system could be potentially life-threatening, police in Mildura, Australia, have warned, after a number of people trying to find the town of 30,000 people have become hopelessly lost in scorching temperatures.
One man was stranded for 24 hours last week in temperatures of up to 46 degrees centigrade, and at least three more have had to be rescued after following the directions given on Apple's new maps, which locate Mildura far from its actual position.
"We've had at least four documented cases," senior sargeant Stephen Phelan told the Guardian. "The map puts it at least 70 kilometres from where it should be. We have had people bogged down in sunset country."
The Mildura police have now issued a warning on their website
Getting lost in the park around Mildura is potentially deadly: "There's no water, and you can get bogged down in the sand," explained Toby Prime, a reporter on the local Sunraysia Daily. "Temperatures go up to 46 degrees and there's no water."
One man following the map on his phone had driven into the park at 6pm, three hours before it got dark, and then realised that he was nowhere near Mildura – but that to continue driving could get him stuck because of the quantity of sand. "The phone says Mildura is in the middle of the national park," Prime explained. The man was only rescued after he had been in the park for 24 hours.
Mildura lies outside the park, as the police indicate on their own site. Apple's Maps correctly identify the location of Mildura Airport - but do not offer it as a destination for people searching for "Mildura".
The problems have only occurred since Apple updated its maps, the police said. The company has not made any public comment on the case.
The warning from police means that Apple's maps have moved from being an embarrassment, for which a number of managers were fired, to a seriously damaging problem for the company. If similar problems were to emerge in the US it could open Apple to expensive lawsuits.
Other mapping services, including Google's Maps and Nokia's Here.com maps, show Mildura in the correct location.
