*ISLAMABAD – Three teenagers were killed while taking selfies on a railwaytrack in India, the country which researchers say has the worst record forselfie-related deaths.*
A fourth youth managed to jump to safety before the accident in Panipatcity in the northern state of Haryana, a police officer told AFP Wednesday.
“The victims were busy taking selfies and when they saw a train approachingthey jumped to a second track without realising another train was coming onthat,” M. S. Dabas told AFP.
“One of them saved his life as he jumped on the other side of the track.”
The group had come to Panipat to attend a wedding. Two of those killed were19 years old and the third was 18.
Experts warn that youngsters obsessed with social media are going toextreme lengths in order to post selfies seen as daring and risky.
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A study last year by researchers from the All Indian Institute of MedicalSciences said 259 people across the world had died while taking selfiesbetween 2011 and 2017.
The highest number of incidents and selfie deaths were reported in Indiafollowed by Russia, the United States, and Pakistan, the study said.
In 2017 three students were killed on a railway track in southern Karnatakastate, while a man died in Odisha after an elephant wrapped its trunkaround the man and crushed him to death as he tried to take a selfie withthe animal.
Last year Railways Minister Piyush Goyal took to Twitter to warn peopleagainst risking their life for the sake of photographs. -APP/AFP
