On Tuesday, three boys from Bengaluru were crushed by a train while they were trying to click a selfie with a speeding train. The three were standing on the tracks trying to get what they thought would be a perfect shot, and ended up dead.
Another incident has been reported from the capital city, where an 18-year-old was run over by an express train seconds before he thought of clicking a selfie standing on the railway tracks.
According to a report by The Independent UK, a study found that between March 2014 and September 2016, 60 per cent of all “selfie deaths”, where a person dies while trying to take a picture of themselves, occurred in India.
A detailed study by Carnegie Mellon University and Indraprastha Institute of Information states that Delhi, recorded 127 selfie-deaths in the world from March 2014 to September 2016. And 76 of that was in India.
The statistics of selfie-related deaths in India has reached such a level that the ministry of tourism has asked for no-selfie signs across places of interest. And Mumbai has banned selfies from 16 sites, including the promenades at Bandra and Worli. But that hasn’t stopped people from trying and, unfortunately, dying.
The death reports of the four youths come just a week after a 17-year-old boy drowned in a pond in Bangalore as his friends were busy clicking selfies. A copy of the selfie went viral on the social media where the group of youths was seen posing for a ‘groupfie’ while on the background their friend was drowning.
They were so busy that they didn’t notice their classmate was drowning right behind them. It was later reported that the group had realised what had happened only when one of them was going through the pictures and saw their friend drown in the background.
Earlier this month, a 54-year-old in Odisha, was crushed to death by an elephant while he was trying to get a selfie with the mammoth.
Things are so bad that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways recently sent a message through an advertisement where Nitin Gadkari is urging people to not take selfies on the roads or at any unsafe areas. “Kripaya Gari Chalate Waqt Ya Raste Pe Apne Phone Ka Istemal Mat Kare. Isse Apke Jaan Ko Khatra Ho sakta hai,” (Do not use your mobile Phones while you are driving on at any unsafe place, this can be life threatening).
(With Agency Inputs)
