Apple redraws maps after Australian drivers led astray in the bush

Apple has updated its new maps system after police in Mildura, Australia, said a number of people trying to find the town of 30,000 people became hopelessly lost in the bush in scorching temperatures.

One man was stranded for 24 hours last week in temperatures of up to 46C and at least three more have had to be rescued after following the directions given on Apple's new maps, which located Mildura among the dusty, sun-baked trails of Murray-Sunset National Park, the second-largest in Australia and far from the town's actual position.

Mildura, whose previous claim to fame was the ill-fated Nowingi toxic waste scheme (proposed in 2004, defeated in 2007), suddenly found itself the focus of international media interest over the latest example of Apple's calamitous move into mapping.

"We've had at least four documented cases," senior sergeant Stephen Phelan said on Monday before Apple made the update. "The map puts it at least 70 kilometres (45 miles) from where it should be. We have had people bogged down in Sunset country."

The iPhone maker updated the given location on Monday following widespread coverage of the problem. A search for Mildura now points to the middle of the town in the state of Victoria. At the time of writing it also showed an incorrect location near the edge of the park called Mildura – but that does not show up in searches.

Mildura police issued a warning on its website, pointing out the difference between the point then offered by Apple and the actual location. It confirmed drivers had been led astray and said the problem was "potentially a life-threatening issue" due to the intense heat and lack of available water in the area.

Apple said it was working hard to fix problems on its maps, which it introduced in September. It dumped Google's maps because the search portal refused to offer iPhone users features such as turn-by-turn navigation.

But problems quickly emerged with the detail in the Apple maps, which omitted a number of locations and mislabelled others .

Getting lost near Mildura is dangerous. "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." People may also have to walk some distance in the heat to get phone reception. Summer is beginning in Australia, and temperatures are soaring.

One man following the map on his phone had driven into the park at 6pm, three hours before it got dark, then realised he was nowhere near Mildura, but that to continue driving could get him stuck because of the sand on and around the road.

"The phone says Mildura is in the middle of the national park," Prime said. The man was rescued only 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, near the town – but do not offer it as a destination for people searching for "Mildura".

The problems have only occurred since Apple moved to its iOS 6 software in September, the police said.

Apple dropped Google as its map provider in September with the launch of its iOS 6 software for the iPhone and iPad. But problems quickly emerged with the map detail, which had omitted a number of locations and mislabelled others compared towith the product that had gone before.

In October, chief executive Tim Cook issued a public apology for the poor quality of the maps and soon after fired the head of the iOS 6 software group, Scott Forstall. The head of the mapping group is also reported to have been sacked in November.

Apple buys its map data from a number of providers including TomTom, but there is no indication that its suppliers' databases are at fault.