iPhone 5 Maps errors life-threatening: Cops

Security agencies in this Australian town have sounded a stark warning about what commuters worldwide have been facing – the stupefying errors in iMaps.

Police in the city of Mildura, Victoria, has warned that a glitch in Apple’s new iPhone 5 mapping system is putting lives at risk.

Over the past month, officers in the far northwestern Victorian town of Mildura have had to rescue five motorists who followed directions from their iPhones operating on the new iOS6 system but were led more than 70km off-course.

Apparently, the app incorrectly lists Mildura as being in the middle of Murray Sunset National Park. The flaw has consequently lead several motorists to become stranded in the Australian Outback.

Despite its cheerful-sounding name, Victoria’s Sunset National Park is not a typical park with barbecues and a beach – instead, it is a dusty scrap of the Australian bush that contains poisonous snakes and insects, has very little water or mobile reception, and sees temperatures rise up to 46°C.

This is a “potentially life-threatening issue,” Victoria Police say. “Police are extremely concerned as there is no water supply within the park and temperatures can reach as high as 46 degrees,” a police statement said.

Officers have found some motorists were stranded for as long as 24 hours with no food or water, and were forced to walk for long distances through “dangerous terrain” to get phone reception.

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