Wacky Wednesday: Six cases of selfie-related deaths in 2016
It’s almost unbelievable but there has been an increase in deaths caused by taking selfies since 2014. Here are a few examples.
Data-crunching website Priceonomics tabulated the list of selfie-related deaths since the start of 2014. While this sounds like the most bizarre cause of death, the website has recorded at least 49 selfie-related deaths.
The Telegraph reported that in 2015, more people were killed taking selfies than by shark attacks in Britain. As of February 2016, India had recorded more selfie-related deaths than any other country. A 2014 study found that two out of every 100 000 people in Mumbai are selfie-takers. The city ranked 416th globally among 459 other cities and has since instituted “no-selfie zones”.
How would one die from taking a selfie? Here are few examples:
High flyer
In January this year a 19-year-old student fell to her death from the top of a 20-story apartment building in Manila Philippines, while taking a selfie. Her classmate told media that, “she was not satisfied with the photos they had taken so she decided to climb up the parapet wall”.
Trainspotting
A 16-year-old boy was killed by a passenger train while taking a selfie with an approaching train in Chennai, India. According to reports: “The teen reportedly walked in front of the train and waited for it to come closer before taking the photo.”
Irrigation fall
In February this year, three students of Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences drowned after falling in an irrigation canal in Hulivana village, 180 km from Bengaluru, India, reportedly while they were taking selfies.
Rock climbing gone wrong
In April 2016, Manjeet Chowdhary climbed a rock fountain at a zoo in Hyderabad, India, apparently to take a selfie. The 16 year old slipped, fell into the water and may have hit his head on a rock. He was taken to hospital where his death was recorded.
Walrus’s revenge
At a local wildlife park in the city of Rongcheng, Shangdong province in China, a businessman was drowned by a walrus after taking several selfies and videos with the animal. A zookeeper was also drowned in the same incident after attempting to save the man.
