NEW DELHI, May 1, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Three teenagers were killed while taking
selfies on a railway track in India, the country which researchers say has
the worst record for selfie-related deaths.
A fourth youth managed to jump to safety before the accident in Panipat
city in the northern state of Haryana, a police officer told AFP Wednesday.
“The victims were busy taking selfies and when they saw a train approaching
they jumped to a second track without realising another train was coming on
that,” M. S. Dabas told AFP.
“One of them saved his life as he jumped on the other side of the track.”
The group had come to Panipat to attend a wedding. Two of those killed were
19 years old and the third was 18.
Experts warn that youngsters obsessed with social media are going to
extreme lengths in order to post selfies seen as daring and risky.
A study last year by researchers from the All Indian Institute of Medical
Sciences said 259 people across the world had died while taking selfies
between 2011 and 2017.
The highest number of incidents and selfie deaths were reported in India
followed by Russia, United States, and Pakistan, the study said.
In 2017 three students were killed on a railway track in southern Karnataka
state, while a man died in Odisha after an elephant wrapped its trunk around
the man and crushed him to death as he tried to take a selfie with the
animal.
Last year Railways Minister Piyush Goyal took to Twitter to warn people
against risking their life for the sake of photographs.