Taking selfies has become pretty much mandatory at everywhere and anywhere and for any reason.
But in order to garner some attention, get likes and followers, some people are willing to take big risks to get that perfect #Selfie. In some cases nothing goes wrong and people go on with their day. But for some people the risks they took nearly cost them their lives and in some cases it did cost them their lives.
According to a recent study selfie deaths are an ever growing problem. The study found that from October 2011 to November 2017, 259 people have died in 137 separate selfie incidents. India, Russia and the United States had the highest reports of selfie related deaths. The mean age of selfie suicides was 23 years with nearly 73% of those deaths being male. Drowning, transportation and falling were the top reasons people died from selfies.
I mean, selfies are fun and cool but is that #Selfie really worth taking those risks ? Take a look at these 10 dangerous selfies that should never have been attempted and ask yourself that same question.
10 Dangerous Selfies
#1 - Indian couple fall to death at Yosemite National Park
In October 2018, Vishnu Viswanath and his wife Meenakshi Moorthy went on a trip to Yosemite National Park from which they would never return. The couple fell from 800 feet from Taft Point, a popular and steep overlook without railings.
Moorthy with her hot pink hair stood out from the crowd according to another tourist, Sean Matteson, who was visiting Yosemite that day too. “She gave me the willies. There aren’t any railings. I was not about to get that close to the edge. But she seemed comfortable. She didn’t seem like she was in distress or anything”, Matteson relates.
Moorthy captured inadvertently captured Moorthy in the background of his photos at some point before she and Vishnu fell to their deaths.
Nobody noticed the couple was missing until park rangers saw Moorthy’s tripod still standing on the ledge with the camera attached. Rangers used binoculars to locate the bodies. Two days after they fell to their deaths rangers used helicopters to recover the bodies.
In an eery premonition of the danger of certain selfies, Moorthy, who wanted to be a travel blogger wrote on one social media post: “Is our life just worth one photo?”.
# 2 - Climbing Rio de Janeiro's Christ Statue Without Safety Equipment
Lee Thompson, founder of a British travel company, obtained authorization from Brazil’s tourism authority to scale the Corcovado (Christ Statue) without safety equipment. The result of this unsafe adventure were some really beautiful pictures. Luckily Thompson left with his life and lived to tell the story. Had he fallen from this perilous climb he would have plunged over 90 feet to his death. Only Jesus Christ could save him then.
#3 - Chinese Superman Dies While Rooftopping
Wu Yongning, also known as the Chinese Superman, was known for the amazing images he took while rooftopping. Rooftopping is highly unsafe because enthusiasts prove themselves by climbing skyscrapers without safety equipment. Yongning fell from the 62nd floor of a building he attempted to descend during a rooftopping competition. While the amazing images of his wild ascents will live on forever, Yongning won’t be around to share his stories with his children and grandchildren.
#4 - Saved By The Train Engineer
Jared Michael tried to take a selfie of himself dangerously close to a train. He was saved by the train engineer who kicked Michael out of the way. Michael’s video of the experience went viral on YouTube. After the incident he admitted that attempting this selfie was a stupid mistake.
#5 - Too Close for Comfort
A visitor to the Wildlife World Zoo near Phoenix tried to take a selfie near a Jaguar. Ignoring the barriers she crossed them and got as close as possible to the wild cat. The Jaguar did not take kindly to the unwelcome visitor and clawed her as she took her selfie. The woman sustained non life-threatening injuries. She was lucky, but as a Zoo spokesperson said, this is a reminder to everyone that these are wild animals and the barriers needs to be respected.
# 6 - At The Volcano's Edge
American Nik Halik and his fellow climber New Zealander Bradley Ambrose took these selfies from a hiking trip to the Benbow volcano in Vanuatu. Ambrose, admitted the shots were highly risky because they had to get very close the lava where the heat was almost unbearable and the smell of toxic gases was staggering.
# 7 - Swimming With An Anaconda
In the Amazon everything is big. There is a fish known as the Pirarucú that is nearly as big as a person. But some of the most famous Amazon animals are piranhas and the famous Anaconda.
Anacondas are now for squeezing cattle to death and eating them. Imagine what they could do to a person? Despite knowing that, it did not deter Carlos Andrade, a cattle farmer from the backlands of the state of Amazonas. Andrade dived into the water with this creature of nightmares. Smiling in the selfie he did not seemed concerned about what the Anaconda could to him.
# 8 - No Return From Machu Picchu
Oliver Park, a German tourist visiting Machu Picchu, died while taking a selfie of the ancient Incan ruins. Park was jumping for a photo when he landed he slipped 130 feet to this death. According to Peruvian authorities, he crossed security barriers and wandered into areas tourists were prohibited from visiting.
# 9 - Bear Selfie
In 2014, a “bear selfie” craze became popular. It is so dangerous that US Forest Service issued warning against the practice. If you are thinking about attempting this trendy selfie, see #5 and what wild animals can do to you!
# 10 - Topping Tower Bridge In London
CassOnline, a popular YouTuber and stuntman took these risky selfied from atop London’s Tower Bridge. He survived the ascent and descent and the video of his adventure went viral. CassOnline was questioned by British police, but was not arrested for the incident. Considering he could have fallen 213 feet, being detained was a low price to pay for the risky and potentially fatal exploit.
Would You?
Would you risk your life for any of these selfies? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
