The selfie-mania has been going on for a couple of years now. Everyone in the world knows what a selfie is, and most of us have taken a selfie or two. Most selfies are taken for social media networks. People take selfies in their rooms, outside or at exotic locations. We take selfies when there is something that we want to remember and forever memorize in our phone. As such, selfies sound like a great concept. Remembering the good old days is always nice.
But people also take selfies at unsafe places, for the same reasons as above – to show them off to their friends and the whole world. And some of those selfie-taking moments went wrong, very wrong. Today, we’re going over 10 people who injured or killed themselves while trying to take a selfie.
10) Russians Killed by a Grenade
Last year, Russia made an official flyer related to selfie-taking safety. They were forced to do so because of a large number of people who lost their lives while trying to take cool selfies. A great example of this is when two young men decided to pose for a selfie with a hand grenade. As if that wasn’t dangerous enough, they decided to pull out the pin. Both men were blown up and died at the spot. The telephone served as evidence, because they actually did manage to take a selfie.
9) Russian Girl Shoots Herself
Speaking of Russians and weapons, in March last year a Russian girl decided to take a selfie while holding a gun. She also decided that the best way to point the gun would be towards her head. The gun accidentally went off, and she literally shot herself in the head. The woman suffered head injuries, but luckily managed to survive.
8) Slovak Tourist Falls To His Death
Croatia is a popular tourist destination, thanks to its beautiful shores and nature. One of the best known symbols of Croatia is the National Park called Plitvice Lakes. Few years ago, a Canadian man almost killed himself after trying to take a selfie by jumping while on a 250 foot high cliff. He was saved by tree branches that he fell on, but suffered sever injuries. At the end he survived, unlike another tourist who tried to do the exact same thing. A Slovak tourist fell from a rock, but wasn’t saved by any branches. She was dead on the spot by the time police and ambulance arrived.
7) Spaniard Killed By A Bull
During a bull running festival in Spain, a man decided that it would be a good idea to take a selfie with several bulls surrounding him. While he was preparing the selfie, he was run over by a bull who left him sever neck injuries that would kill him shortly after. The man was taken to a hospital where he was given two liters of blood, but the injuries were fatal. The festival was suspended right after the accident.
6) Japanese Tourist Dies At Taj Mahal
Last year, a group of Japanese tourists was visiting the famous Indian mausoleum, Taj Mahal. Taj Mahal is a very popular tourist location with over 12,000 visitations each day. One of the tourists stood at the Royal Gate and tried to take a selfie. Him and one more person fell down the large stairs. One of them ‘only’ fractured a leg, but the other one sadly died.
5) Indian Teenager Ran Over By A Train
Mumbai Police Department was forced to create so called “no selfie zones”, due to the high amount of teenagers being injured or killed while taking selfies. One of them was an Indian boy, who was killed this year. He was walking alongside a train tracks when he noticed a train combing by. He decided to take a selfie with the train in the frame. He waited for the train to come closer, and was hit by it shortly after. Unfortunately, he was dead on the spot.
4) Two Men Murdered By A Walrus
Jia Lijun, a Chinese businessman, was visiting a zoo and decided to take some selfies with a 1.5 tonnes heavy walrus. After taking some selfies and playing with the animal, he was dragged into the water when the walrus grabbed him from behind. The walrus apparently pulled the man into the pool because it wanted to play with him. Walrus’ keeper jumped and attempted to save the man when he noticed what was happening. The walrus held both men using its weight, and they both drowned minutes after. The zoo paid around $110,000 to Jia’s family because of the incident.
3) Five People + Â One Selfie = One Accident
A group of five people decided to take a couple of selfies while they were enjoying sightseeing activities. They were on a cliff taking selfies, when all five of them fell off of it. Two women were severely injured from the fall, but there were no deaths. The cause of their fall was the gate that opened when they leaned on it.
2) Romanian Teen Takes The ‘Ultimate Selfie’
In 2015, a Romanian teenage girl wanted to take the ‘ultimate selfie’, as she referred to it. Anna Ursu, aged 18 at the time, climbed up the top of a train with her friend. A passer-by warned them to crouch in order to avoid the wires that were located above them. 18-year old accidentally touched a wire and was electrocuted and ignited by the passing current. Her friend was blown off the train, but survived. Ms. Ursu was fatally burned by the time medical personnel arrived at the scene.
1) 7 People Dead In A Selfie-Incident In India
The most fatal selfie-related accident happened just last month. A group of 7 friends was enjoying their time swimming in the Ganges river. One of them started taking selfies and slipped, which caused him to start drowning. One after another, his six friends jumped into the water in an attempt to save one another. Unfortunately, the high water current was too much for them, and all seven of them drowned. The youngest boy was 16 years old, and the oldest was 24. Their bodies were recovered two hours after the incident.
(Not So) Fun Facts
India is the country with most selfie-related deaths in the whole world. In 2014, 49 selfie-related fatal accidents happened in the whole world, 19 of them in India.
In 2015, The Telegraph claimed that selfie-related deaths overtook the number of shark attack deaths. The claim was later disputed by other sources, so we’re not certain if it’s true.
Over 60 people on average die each year from such accidents, and over a 100 are injured.