Parents fall off cliff as kids snap picture

[dlevere]

More people have died from selfies than shark attacks this year

By Cailey Rizzo


Image: Morten Falch Sortland, Getty Images

A 66 year old Japanese tourist has died, and his travel companion has been injured, after falling down stairs while attempting to take a selfie at the Taj Mahal.

The man's death raises the selfie-related death toll this year — to 12. To put that in perspective, in 2015 there have so far been 8 deaths caused by shark attacks.


Image: Donte Neal, Mashable

It sounds like a joke, but unfortunately it isn't: The deaths are a tragic reminder to travelers that focusing on a phone screen instead of unfamiliar surroundings is not safe.

Four of the selfie deaths this year, like the tourist, identified as Hideto Ueda, were caused by falling.

The next leading cause of deaths involving selfies was being hit or injured by trains, either because the individual was taking trying to get a photo with a train or because the photo they wanted involved getting on dangerous equipment.

It's not clear if the number of daredevil selfies is increasing, but more and more tourists are making headlines because of their dangerous attempts at a memorable photo. Parks have closed because visitors keep trying to take selfies with bears, bull runs — an already dangerous activity — have had to expressly outlaw selfie-taking, and even Tour de France cyclists are concerned about selfie danger.

With no idea how far some people will go for a great selfie, many landmarks have begun banning selfies — or at least selfie sticks. As Conde Nast Traveler pointed out in their article on selfies vs. sharks, in July the Russian Interior Ministry released a brochure, warning about cool selfies that "could cost you your life." Selfie-takers are urged to take precaution with weapons, ledges, dangerous animals, trains and live wires.

"Before taking a selfie, everyone should think about the fact that racing after a high number of 'likes' could lead him on a journey to death and his last extreme photo could turn out to be posthumous," an aide to Russia's interior minister told Al Jazeera.

[Helder]

Sucks for those kids and people should be more careful, why the hell would you go to the very edge of a steep as cliff? You got to love these social media trends that idiots do even better when shit like that crash in the link happens so these idiots will pay more attention.

[dlevere]

(Newser) – A Polish couple visiting Cabo da Roca in Portugal wanted the typical tourist photo of themselves at the end of Europe. So they handed their kids the camera, crossed safety barriers to reach the edge of the cliff—and fell 450 feet to their deaths while their children tried to take the picture, reports the Portugal Resident.



"They were traumatized. It is the kind of thing they will never forget," a security guard tells the paper. A Spanish couple witnessed the incident Saturday and pulled the children, aged 5 and 6, from the cliff edge, then alerted local authorities. The children are now receiving counseling and are with Polish diplomats, the Telegraph adds. The bodies of the couple — believed to be in their 40's — were found Sunday; a search for them was delayed Saturday by weather, reports Polskie Radio.

Portuguese authorities are investigating the incident. It’s believed the family used a path between a lighthouse and the cliff edge, leading local fire officials to suggest its removal. "The paths encourage people. Tourists think they must lead somewhere. They climb the fences — not thinking that they have been erected to protect people's lives — and then terrible things like this happen," an official tells the Resident.

This incident is just part of a wider trend of dangerous pictures and selfies, the Washington Post adds, including this Indian teen, this man, this bull runner, and these Iranian ladies.