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Dangerous Vanity: Selfie-Related Deaths & Critical Injuries

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Pietro_Mercurios

Gone But Not Forgotten
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Not often I feel so little sympathy.
http://metro.co.uk/2014/08/03/man-21-kills-himself-trying-to-take-gun-selfie-4820110/

Man, 21, kills himself trying to take gun selfie

Metro UK. Ollie McAteer, 3 Aug 2014

A vet who posed with a gun for a selfie died shortly after shooting himself in the head by accident.

Oscar Aguilar showed off on Facebook by posting photos of himself in front of sports cars, sitting on motorbikes and hugging attractive women.

But the Mexican’s desire to impress proved his downfall when he borrowed the gun and snapped himself waving it about.

Neighbour Manfredo Paez, 57, said: ‘I heard a gunshot and then I heard somebody screaming.’

The 21-year-old died on the way to hospital in Mexico City.

He had failed to realise the gun was loaded, police said.
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Idiot.
 
Snuff selfie: 21yo Russian woman shoots self in head posing for photo

A young woman from Moscow has been critically wounded after trying to take a selfie with a pistol pressed against her temple. It’s only the latest in a series of fatal and near-fatal selfies.

The 21-year-old employee was at her office, when she took a 9-millimeter rubber-bulletpistol and decided to take a selfie. However, she accidentally pressed the trigger, Interfax reported.

“Veronika asked the guard to give her the weapon to take a photo, and he didn’t refuse. She took the pistol and started making the selfie, and shot herself in the head by accident,” one of the witnesses told LifeNews.

After the incident, the guard said that the woman pressed the trigger and the bullet ricocheted off a wall into her head.

An ambulance was called to the scene, and the victim was taken to the hospital. Medics describe her state as critical, and she is currently in intensive care. ...
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This news item includes the following summary of recent selfie-related deaths ...

The string of bizarre incidents involving selfies includes people doing more and more outlandish things so that their photos stand out from the crowd.

On Saturday, a Singaporean man died in Bali after falling off a cliff while taking a selfie. Mohammed Aslam Shahul, 21, lost his balance and fell into the sea off a cliff while on vacation with his friends.

“He slipped and fell into the ocean. He apparently couldn’t swim,” local police said. The man’s body was discovered in the sea at a depth of five meters.

Just over a week ago, a teenager was killed in the northeastern Romanian town of Iasi when she was trying to take the “ultimate selfie” on top of a train. Anna Ursu, 18, was posing for the selfie with a friend, when her leg reportedly touched a live wire above, and 27,000 volts were sent through her body.

A passer-by had previously warned the two about the possible consequences. He heard a loud bang as the young woman was electrocuted and rushed over to try to help, but couldn’t put out the flames, and called an ambulance. The doctors couldn’t save Ursu’s life.

Ursu’s friend was instantly thrown off the train, and later told police she and her friend were trying to take the “ultimate selfie.”
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SOURCE: https://www.rt.com/news/261445-selfie-sticks-deadly-fatal/
 
Swifty said:
So the lessons to learn are don't point a loaded gun at your head when taking a selfie in case you reflex pull the trigger, don't be Indian, avoid taking selfies next to the edge of high drops and no selfies on train tracks.
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Tourist dies in Machu Picchu taking photo

The body of a German tourist has been recovered from a ravine after he fell while visiting the ancient site of Machu Picchu in the Peruvian Andes.

Oliver Park, 51, ignored safety signs and warnings from wardens and went into a restricted area close to the edge of a cliff on Wednesday, officials say.
They say he tried to pose for a photograph of himself leaping as if in flight but lost his footing. :eek:

Rescuers found the body on Thursday and took it to a local police station.
Police said his body would be taken to a morgue in the city of Cusco.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-36680663
 
The number of people who die each year taking a selfie is on the rise but a team of US researchers now hope they can tackle the problem.

They are developing an app which will warn people when they are at risk.

Their research found 15 selfie-takers died in 2014, 39 in 2015 and 73 died in the first eight months of 2016.

They revealed where most incidents happen and how causes of death can change depending on where in the world you live.

The study has been led by PhD student Hemank Lamba and a team of friends at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/artic...=social&ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_source=twitter
 
uair01 said:
Another selfie death. What a waste of young life :(

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...e-selfie/ar-AAkrT5W?li=AA59G2&ocid=spartandhp
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There was a selfie death on this Norwegian tourist attraction, Trolltunga in 2015.

View_of_trolltunga.jpg
 
ramonmercado said:
The number of people who die each year taking a selfie is on the rise but a team of US researchers now hope they can tackle the problem.

They are developing an app which will warn people when they are at risk.

Their research found 15 selfie-takers died in 2014, 39 in 2015 and 73 died in the first eight months of 2016.

They revealed where most incidents happen and how causes of death can change depending on where in the world you live.

The study has been led by PhD student Hemank Lamba and a team of friends at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/artic...=social&ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_source=twitter
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Well I hope they don't. Common sense is a gift and Darwin wasn't wrong about people who have none. I disagree with this kind of 'Caution Hot Coffee' crap. It doesn't help mankind.
 
new ways to die ... selfie-related deaths are on the up and up, not that ive ever taken one
 
henry said:
new ways to die ... selfie-related deaths are on the up and up, not that ive ever taken one
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Out of curiosity I searched for them. Tragic overall. What a waste of human life.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_selfie-related_injuries_and_deaths

Example:
48 people were injured when standing too close to a burning bakery in Chennai, India to take selfies. They repeatedly ignored warnings advising them to move away from the blaze.

A 66-year-old Italian tourist visiting Kenya was having breakfast with his wife in a tent at the Swara Camp in Kulalu ranch. He saw wild elephants and approached them closely. While taking a selfie he was charged by an elephant, sustained serious injuries to his leg and died at the camp.
 
uair01 said:
Out of curiosity I searched for them. Tragic overall. What a waste of human life.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_selfie-related_injuries_and_deaths

Example:
48 people were injured when standing too close to a burning bakery in Chennai, India to take selfies. They repeatedly ignored warnings advising them to move away from the blaze.

A 66-year-old Italian tourist visiting Kenya was having breakfast with his wife in a tent at the Swara Camp in Kulalu ranch. He saw wild elephants and approached them closely. While taking a selfie he was charged by an elephant, sustained serious injuries to his leg and died at the camp.
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Shouldn't this be under 'Darwin Awards'? The 66 year old has probably already produced a couple of generations - maybe they can learn from example.
 
Falling off cliffs while taking selfies seems to be a new trend.
 
Pity on a good looking young woman ... I am tempted to mock this, but it would have been better if all went well and we never heard of this:

A topless tourist has been killed in a horror accident while she was hanging out of a car window. Natalia Borodin, wearing only a pair tiny white bikini bottoms, was filmed playing around on holiday as her female friend drove and filmed the action on a mobile phone . But the video ended with the Russian woman's muffled screams as she is believed to have hit a lamppost or a passing car. Mirror Online has decided to edit the final seconds of the film.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/topless-tourist-killed-shes-filmed-11330778

The video is on youtube. I couldn't resist seeing it (bad idea). Mercifully it does not show anything gruesome. She just disappears suddenly.
 
Liveleak has a number of similar videos, often featuring vodka-laden maidens taking selfies at the wheel. Screeching of machine and voice ensues, sometimes followed by blackness or ominous dripping sounds, as witnesses begin to assess the remains.

Whether women are more likely than males to be making these farewell videos is open to question. Perhaps theirs are the ones which attract more attention. I have seen a few male variants but this may be a league where the women set the pace. :horr:
 
Russian man dies after posing for photo with hand grenade
Alexander 'Sasha' Chechik was killed instantly, say police
Harry Cockburn
Tuesday 28 November 2017 20:49 GMT
A Russian man has died after he pulled the pin out of a hand grenade and posted photographs of himself holding it.

Alexander 'Sasha' Chechik was killed instantly in the incident in the city of Labinsk in south west Russia, police said.

According to local news outlet Kuban.kp.ru, the man had sent a text to a friend, including a picture of the grenade in his hand with the pin pulled from the device lying nearby.
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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...ander-sasha-chechik-labinsk-pin-a8080771.html
 
This thread seems a good place for this cautionary news item, because a number of examples are to be found here. Other FTMB areas illustrating the problem include the Strange Deaths and Silly Mistakes threads.

Selfie deaths: 259 people reported dead seeking the perfect picture
The quest for extreme selfies killed 259 people between 2011 and 2017, a 2018 global study has revealed.

Researchers at the US National Library of Medicine recommend that 'no selfie zones' should be introduced at dangerous spots to reduce deaths.

These would include the tops of mountains, tall buildings and lakes, where many of the deaths occurred.

Drowning, transport accidents and falling were found to be the most common cause of death.

But death by animals, electrocution, fire and firearms also appeared frequently in reports from around the world.

In July this year, 19-year-old Gavin Zimmerman fell to his death while taking selfies on a cliff in New South Wales, Australia. ...

Tomer Frankfurter died in California's Yosemite National Park in September after falling 250 metres while trying to take a selfie.

News reports like this were analysed to compile the study.

They found that selfie-related deaths are most common in India, Russia, the United States and Pakistan and 72.5% of those reported are men.

Previous studies were compiled from Wikipedia pages and Twitter, which researchers say did not give accurate results.

The new study also showed that the number of deaths is on the rise.

There were only three reports of selfie-related deaths in 2011, but that number grew to 98 in 2016 and 93 in 2017.

However, the researchers claim that the actual number of selfie deaths could be much higher because they are never named as the cause of death.

"It is believed that selfie deaths are underreported and the true problem needs to be addressed," it says.

"Certain road accidents while posing for selfies are reported as death due to Road Traffic Accident.

"Thus, the true magnitude of the problem is underestimated. It is therefore important to assess the true burden, causes, and reasons for selfie deaths so that appropriate interventions can be made."
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SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-45745982
 
Here's another tragic selfie-related incident from India (which is the leading nation for selfie-related deaths).
Selfie slip leaves four dead at India dam

Four members of the same family drowned at a dam in India Sunday after slipping into the water while trying to take a selfie.

Newlywed bride V Nivedha, 20, died alongside family members Sneha, 22, Kanniga, 20, and Santosh, 14, who was the first to slip into the water, according to local police in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Her husband, G Perumalsamy, 25, survived and managed to save his 15-year-old sister Yuvarani Perumalsamy.

More than 250 people around the world have died taking selfies since 2011.

India has recorded the highest number of selfie deaths of any country in the world, according to a 2018 study.

The incident took place at Pambar dam in the southern state, according to S Prabhakar, a senior police official from the district of Krishnagiri.

"They wanted to take a selfie at this spot on the dam and they slipped," Prabhakar told CNN.

"The water level increased while they were there."

The bodies of the deceased were recovered immediately.

Some 259 people worldwide died while taking selfies from October 2011 to November 2017, according to a study published in India's Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.

They found that the most selfie deaths occurred in India, followed by Russia, the US and Pakistan. Most of the victims -- around 72% -- were men and under the age of 30.

India accounted for more than half the global total, with 159 reported selfie deaths since 2011. Researchers attributed the high number to the country's enormous population of people under 30.

The issue has drawn the attention of authorities, which have taken to implementing no-selfie zones in areas deemed high risk.
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SOURCE: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/08/asia/selfie-deaths-india-dam-scli-intl/index.html
 
This April 2019 article from Outside examines the psychological and other factors motivating the selfie craze and the extremes to which it has been taken ...
Cause of Death: Selfie

It began as retribution for a lost bet: in 2014, Gigi Wu, an experienced hiker from Taiwan, posed atop a snow-covered mountain, clad only in a bikini. The stunt resulted in a series of undeniably gorgeous photos. So Wu, a model and adventure sports personality, kept at it for the next four years, photographing herself on the summits of more than 100 of Asia’s most impressive peaks, always in a bikini. The images are at once absurd and beautiful, a juxtaposition Wu told Taiwan TV that she adored.

They also appealed to followers, and according to BuzzFeed, she quickly amassed thousands of them. Fans loved the way she worked both the climbing and bikini personas and encouraged her to keep at it. Haters, meanwhile, wondered why Wu would be so stupid as to climb in scanty swimwear. Actually, she didn’t—the bikini always came along in her backpack, in addition to her satellite phone, first-aid kit, and other supplies.

This January, Wu embarked upon a solo multiday traverse of Taiwan’s Yushan National Park, home to a series of 10,000-plus-foot peaks. But while attempting a summit in the park’s central mountain range, the 36-year-old Wu fell an estimated 60 to 100 feet and landed in a remote ravine. She contacted friends with her satellite phone and reported that she was unable to move the lower half of her body. They, in turn, alerted emergency workers.

The weather was bad, with temperatures below freezing. After several failed helicopter attempts to reach her, rescuers set out on foot. Wu, who was fully clothed, wrapped herself in an emergency blanket and tried to stay hydrated. According to Hong Kong’s TVB news channel, she wrote in her journal and penned quick notes to loved ones.
It would take the search-and-rescue team 43 hours to reach Wu. By the time they arrived, she had died, either from hypothermia or internal injuries or a combination of both. ...
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FULL STORY :
https://www.outsideonline.com/2393419/selfie-deaths
 
For the record ... Many recent reports on selfie deaths cite a 2018 survey study and its results. Here are the bibliographic particulars and the abstract for the published study.

J Family Med Prim Care. 2018 Jul-Aug;7(4):828-831. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_109_18.

Selfies: A boon or bane?

Bansal A, Garg C, Pakhare A, Gupta S.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:
Selfie deaths have become an emerging problem and we performed this study to assess the epidemiology of selfie-related deaths across the globe.
SUBJECT AND METHODS:
We performed a comprehensive search for keywords such as "selfie deaths; selfie accidents; selfie mortality; self photography deaths; koolfie deaths; mobile death/accidents" from news reports to gather information regarding selfie deaths.
RESULTS:
From October 2011 to November 2017, there have been 259 deaths while clicking selfies in 137 incidents. The mean age was 22.94 years. About 72.5% of the total deaths occurred in males and 27.5% in females. The highest number of incidents and selfie-deaths has been reported in India followed by Russia, United States, and Pakistan. Drowning, transport, and fall form the topmost reasons for deaths caused by selfies. We also classified reasons for deaths due to selfie as risky behavior or non-risky behavior. Risky behavior caused more deaths and incidents due to selfies than non-risky behavior. The number of deaths in females is less due to risky behavior than non-risky behavior while it is approximately three times in males.
CONCLUSION:
"No selfie zones" areas should be declared across tourist areas especially places such as water bodies, mountain peaks, and over tall buildings to decrease the incidence of selfie-related deaths. ...


SOURCE (With Images from the Publication):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30234062
 
This was a close call that could have turned out much worse. It also illustrates that the danger in reckless selfie-taking isn't limited to the self-photographer him- / herself.
A 10-year-old boy was accidentally shot by his babysitter while she was taking selfies with a gun, police say

A 10-year-old boy was accidentally shot by his babysitter when she was taking selfies while holding a gun, a Texas sheriff's office said.

The boy was taken to a hospital in critical condition, but is recovering.

The incident occurred at an apartment in Houston on Tuesday evening when the 19-year-old relative who was watching the child found a gun, according to tweets from the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

Thinking the weapon was unloaded, the girl started posing and taking pictures with it, authorities said. That's when the gun went off, hitting the boy in the stomach.

The child was taken to the hospital in critical condition, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted.

His condition has improved and he is stable after undergoing surgery, Senior Deputy Thomas Gilliland told CNN. The investigation is ongoing and no charges have yet been made, Gilliland said. ...
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SOURCE: https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/26/us/boy-shot-babysitter-selfie-trnd/index.html
 
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