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Mexico -

In June 2024, the historic Empress steam train was passing through the Mexican town of Hidalgo. Many excited onlookers gathered to see the impressive train pass by on its momentous journey, but, tragically, one woman got too close. Her death was captured on camera by other spectators taking videos of the train. They showed her crouching down on one knee close to the track to get into position for a selfie as the train passed. The train hit her at high speed and threw her forward onto the ground. A bystander quickly dragged her away from the tracks, but it's believed she died instantly.

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New Zealand -

In February 2017, a young university student, aged 21, tragically lost her life after being swept away by a surge of water from a dam in the Waikato River. She was with three friends at the time, who disregarded the audible warning signaling the imminent opening of the dam.

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Hong Kong -

A hiker, aged 30, died in March 2016 after falling from Lion Rock mountain in an attempt to take a selfie.

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Thailand -

In February 2018, a young woman, aged 22, lost her life after being struck by a train while taking a selfie in Bangkok’s Phaya Thai district. Sadly, a friend of hers also suffered injuries in this tragic incident.

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Romania -

In May 2015, a tragic incident occurred in Iasi where a teenager died while trying to capture a selfie on a train roof. Sadly, her accidental contact with a live wire resulted in her electrocution. Additionally, one of her companions involved in the incident required medical treatment.

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Australia -

In March 2016, two men were taking selfies with a gun when, tragically, one of them accidentally shot the other. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter. 

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Serbia -

A train accident in the village of Laćarak near Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia, resulted in the unfortunate death of a 22-year-old man. He had been inspired by a scene from the movie 'Barking at the Stars' where a character runs in front of a train. Tragically, in an attempt to recreate this scene, he was hit by the train while trying to take a selfie just before the accident occurred.

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South Africa -

In January 2015, a 21-year-old woman passed away on a first date when she fell from Northcliff Hill, Johannesburg, while preparing to take a selfie with her companion.

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Malaysia -

In September 2017, a young man, aged 20, tragically lost his life while attempting to capture a selfie from a hotel in Genting Highlands.

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Kenya -

In September 2016, an Italian tourist, aged 66, lost his life when he was attacked by a wild elephant while attempting to take a selfie with it at Swara Camp in Kulalu ranch.

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Brazil -

In April 2017, two tourists were swept away by a wave while taking a selfie on the rocks at Farol de Santa Marta. One of them drowned and the other was saved, while their cousin recorded the entire incident.

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Oman -

Two girls from Sri Lanka tragically drowned during a visit to Ain Garziz. One of the girls accidentally slipped into the water while taking a selfie, causing her friend to also fall in and leading to their unfortunate demise.

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Nigeria -

In July 2017, at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, two undergraduate students tragically drowned in a pond. They fell off a boat while attempting to capture a group selfie.

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Italy -

In two different incidents, a young girl and a tourist from Germany had accidents while trying to capture selfies from a great height.

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Indonesia -

Two individuals tragically died while attempting to take selfies in different incidents that occurred in May 2015. One involved a Singaporean man who fell into the sea from a cliff on Nusa Lembongan Island, located off the coast of Bali.

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Vietnam -

In July 2016, two individuals in the northern province of Hung Yen were struck by a train while trying to capture a selfie on the railway.

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Turkey -

In December 2015, two teenagers lost their lives after being hit by a truck on a road near Antalya Airport. The tragic incident occurred while the pair and three friends were lying down to capture selfies with airplanes landing in the background.

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Portugal -

In August 2015, a tragic incident occurred in Cabo da Roca, resulting in the untimely death of a Polish couple who were posing for a selfie with their children and accidentally fell from a cliff.

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Colombia -

In 2018, two distinct incidents occurred where young adults fell while taking selfies, one from a waterfall and the other from a bridge.

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Peru -

In June 2016, there were two incidents involving tourists who fell off a cliff and a waterfall while trying to take selfies.

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Spain -

During the running of the bulls in August 2015, a man died when he tried to take a selfie with a bull. Similarly, in November 2014, a Polish student tragically died after falling from the Triana Bridge in Seville while attempting to capture a selfie.

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Sri Lanka -

In June 2017, two incidents occurred involving individuals capturing selfies either on train tracks or train roofs.

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UK -

Two incidents occurred in 2017 and both involved individuals from New Zealand. The first incident resulted in the death of a 41-year-old woman in September. She tragically fell and sustained fatal injuries attempting to take a selfie while riding a bike in London.

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Nepal -

In 2016, there were three selfie-related deaths. In one instance, a man died while attempting to capture a photo with a wild elephant in the southern region of Nepal.

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Croatia -

In June 2015, the first recorded incident occurred, involving a Slovak tourist who tragically died after falling from a rock at the Plitvice Lakes National Park. This unfortunate event transpired as the individual attempted to take a selfie. Similarly, in the subsequent year, a 20-year-old Canadian man suffered severe injuries in a similar accident.

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Chile -

Two young men tragically drowned in Arica, a seaside town, after slipping and falling while attempting to take a selfie.

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Philippines -

In January 2016, a 19-year-old student tragically died in Manila while attempting to take a selfie from the top of a 20-story apartment building. Additionally, there were three other incidents involving tourists who were hit by vehicles, drowned, or suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound while posing for selfies.

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China -

In May 2016, there was an incident where a businessman lost died when a walrus pulled him into the pool at Xixiakou Wildlife Park in Rongcheng City. The unfortunate event occurred as the man attempted to take a selfie with the 1.5-ton creature. Tragically, the animal's keeper also died while trying to rescue the visitor.

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Mexico -

In March 2017, two teenagers tragically lost their lives when a plane wing struck them while they were capturing a selfie on a Chihuahua airstrip.

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Russia -

In June 2017, a series of tragic incidents occurred where six children, including a 10-year-old boy, lost their lives within a week. These young individuals were attempting to capture "the ultimate selfie" by positioning themselves in front of an approaching train.

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Pakistan -

The majority of deaths related to taking selfies in the country have occurred due to drowning. In the month of August 2016, two different incidents resulted in the drowning of a total of six individuals in the Kunhar river.

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United States -

The first known instance of a selfie-related death in the US took place in 2011, involving three teenage girls who tragically died while taking a photo on railroad tracks in Utah. Another incident took place in March 2017, where a 14-year-old girl from Bandon, OR, drowned after falling from a log while capturing selfies, getting trapped underwater.

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India -

India accounts for about half of the selfie-related deaths in the world. Some have been killed while attempting to take photos with wild animals, other have drowned after falling off cliffs, many others have lost their lives to trains, and some have shot themselves while posing with guns.

See also: Leading causes of death around the world

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