You might remember cases like that of the man who sealed his head inside a microwave oven, or worse, the young woman who killed her boyfriend by accident while filming a video. This absurd quest for digital fame and web relevance continues to claim lives, and the most disturbing proof comes through a list of injuries and deaths linked to taking selfies.
The most serious problem when gathering these statistics is that official records do not mention selfies, but instead refer directly to the cause of death or injury. In general, it is estimated that more than 250 people have died from selfies since 2011, and that half of those deaths occurred in India. It is no coincidence, because the report which we shared in February 2016 also places that country at the top of the list.
Believe it or not, the most up-to-date guide to selfie-related injuries and deaths is offered by Wikipedia. Of course, it is impossible to register every incident, but if you look for the 'latest' so to speak, they most likely appear there. For example, the latest entry is from last July 16. A 17-year-old Pakistani woman slipped and fell into a river while taking a selfie. Her father tried to rescue her, but both drowned due to the intensity of the current.
One of the most chilling cases takes us back to India, more precisely to the city of Chennai, where 48 people were injured. On July 16, 2017, a bakery caught fire, and despite multiple warnings from authorities, the public repeatedly approached the flames to take selfies.
The list divides incidents into eight categories: Animals, Drowning, Electrocution, Fall, Fire, Firearms, Transport, and Others. It is also possible to separate results by country, and I am afraid Spain appears five times. One of the entries is very recent, and it talks about two young Britons who fell into the void while trying to take a selfie near Playa Punta Prima, in Torrevieja.
One of the most unusual and horrifying deaths involved a 68-year-old Belgian woman who visited the El Tatio geyser field in Chile in mid-October 2015. The woman tripped backwards and fell into an active geyser with boiling water. Her husband managed to get her out, but with burns covering 85 percent of her body, she died a few days later.
In summary, the list of injuries and deaths related to selfies is horrible, and something tells me it will keep growing. Sometimes it is pure bad luck, but if we have learned one thing, it is that certain people do not listen.
Source: Wikipedia
