Following the addiction to photographing themselves and posting pictures on the Internet, people lose their sense of reality, forget about the risks that threaten their health and life. Against the background of the news of a Romanian girl who died during a selfie on the roof of a railway carriage, we recall the tragedies that might not have happened if there were no camera phone at hand and a manic desire to earn likes on social networks.

1. Selfie on the roof of the train

In May 2015, a Romanian girl caught fire after accidentally touching a bare wire while trying to take her “coolest selfie” on the roof of a train. Anna Ursu, 18, and her friend went to a train station in the city of Iasi to take a "special selfie" that she wanted to post on Facebook. When the girl was lying on the roof of the train and lifted her leg into the air, she accidentally touched a bare wire through which a current of 27,000 volts was flowing. This caused the girl to catch fire. Despite the best efforts of a bystander who tried to save Anna, the 18-year-old girl later died in hospital with burns of about 50 percent of her body.

2. Selfie on the bridge

In 2014, a 23-year-old Polish medical student died while trying to take a selfie on the famous Puente de Triana bridge in southern Spain. Balancing on the ledge of the famous bridge, Sylvia Rachel slipped and fell from a 3-meter support. The ambulance managed to start her stopped heart at the scene of the tragedy, but later the girl died in traumatology.

3. Selfie with a pistol

Playing with a gun is dangerous, and a selfie with a gun can, as it turns out, be the last in your life. In 2014, a Mexican man died while trying to take a selfie with a pistol, which accidentally fired and fatally wounded him. The victim was 21-year-old Oscar Aguilar Otero, who repeatedly posted selfies on Facebook in front of expensive cars or motorcycles, as well as next to beautiful women.

4. Selfie on the way to a bachelorette party

Colette Moreno, 26, died in a car accident in June 2014 while driving to a bachelorette party. She was sitting in the passenger seat when a car driven by her friend collided with an oncoming car. Ashley M. Theobald said she was just trying to overtake the car in front when the exhaust from that car caused Moreno to have an asthmatic reaction that led to the accident.

5. Selfie on the railway bridge

The girl fell from a height of 10 meters, climbing on the support of the railway bridge to take a selfie. Ksenia Ignatieva in a month should have turned 18 years old. She fell from a height onto 1,500 volt wires. Ksenia was an amateur photographer. She decided that the best photographs should be obtained from the top of the railway bridge in Krasnogvardeisky (a town near St. Petersburg). This was the last decision of her life.

6. Selfie on the first date

James Nichols is offering £ 300 (S $ 630) for a stone that was stolen from his car. Why so expensive? Because this rock was picked up by his girlfriend, who crashed to her death while trying to take a selfie on a rock during her first date with James. Nichols flew from the UK to South Africa to meet with Miss Cheyenne Holloway. The couple visited Northcliff Rock, the second highest point in the city of Johannesburg. They stopped to take a selfie against the setting sun. Holloway, 21, stood on a large rock near the top of the cliff, while Nichols, 23, a portrait photographer, set up a tripod, according to a witness. The rock crumbled and the girl flew down from a 15-meter height.

The popular trend, which has been dubbed the #SelfieOlympics, claimed the life of 18-year-old Oscar Reyes. On January 2, 2015, a teenager took a photo of himself in a SpongeBob suit and uploaded it to Facebook. The photo has collected over 200 likes. Oscar's friends later said that it made him so happy that Oscar decided to continue taking "cool" selfies. Investigators claim that on January 3, in the bathroom of his mother, Oscar, while trying to take a selfie, fell from the bathroom door, smashed his head and died of profuse bleeding.

8. Selfie on the beach on your birthday

A young woman named Ceska Agas drowned during a group selfie after celebrating a friend's birthday in the Philippines. An 18-year-old civil engineering student was knocked down by a violent wave as she posed with 6 friends on the beach in front of the famous Bangui windmills.

9. Selfie on a rock

In August 2014, a couple of lovers from Poland died after falling off a cliff in Portuguese Cabo da Roca, apparently trying to take a selfie with their children near a cliff. The 5 and 6 year old children of this couple witnessed the tragedy.

10. Selfie on a motorcycle

Ramon Gonzalez is a Puerto Rican rapper who sang reggaeton and was known as Jadiel. Returning from his parents on a motorcycle, he decided to take a selfie. Moments later, Jadiel lost control of his motorcycle and crashed into an oncoming vehicle. He died on May 10, 2014 at Strong Memorial Hospital.

The US National Library of Medicine has conducted extensive research on self-admiration that leads to death. Scientists have calculated how many people have died from selfies over the past six years, in which countries and under what circumstances fans of "self-arrows" die most often. Russia is among the leaders in statistics.

"Selfishness: blessing or damnation?" - a study under this name was conducted by the US National Library of Medicine. It is dedicated to the death of people from selfies. Scientists have calculated how many people have died during "self-shooting" over the past few years, where more selfie lovers have died and which led to a fatal mistake.

It turned out that from October 2011 to November 2017, at least 259 people died during selfies in the world. These statistics are incomplete, the researchers note, as not all cases are reported, especially in developing countries. The average age of the dead is 29.9 years, there are also many deaths among 10-19-year-olds, and the number of deaths decreases with age. Moreover, about 72.5 percent are men. The largest number of deaths from selfies was recorded in India, followed by Russia, and the third place is shared by the United States and Pakistan.

Drowning and falling from a height became the main cause of death during "selfies". As PMC writes in its study, death during selfies is directly related to risk, and therefore in the sad statistics there are three times more men, since they tend to take risks more often for the sake of a cool photo.

Therefore, in tourist areas, hazardous areas should be fenced off, especially in places such as waterfalls, mountain peaks and rooftops.

One problem, the study says, is that selfies are almost never cited as the root cause of a person's death. For example, if the driver caused an accident due to the fact that he was photographed while driving, this will be recorded simply as an accident due to careless driving. Although there are many cases when drivers are killed precisely because of selfies.

Also, as indicated, when taking pictures, people often drown. During a selfie, they are overturned in boats or washed off the shore by a wave. They often die in transport, trying to be photographed in front of a passing train. Many deaths were recorded during fires. In addition, the United States leads in the number of accidental suicides during gun selfies.

The researchers say the number of deaths increased exponentially from 2014 to 2017. This is attributed to the fact that smartphones with cameras have become ubiquitous, cameras in them have improved, and the phenomenon of “selfies” in the world has begun to be given great attention. As an example, they cite various contests with prizes for the coolest selfies, as well as the fact that with the help of photos it became possible to get more likes on social networks.

Researchers at PMC write that their work is "just the tip of the iceberg" and in fact the problem is much more serious. According to them, it is necessary to tackle the safety of citizens in high-risk places more closely. This, as the document says, began to be actively engaged in India, Indonesia and Russia, where they put restrictions and hang warnings that this place is dangerous for selfies.

The past few years have been hot for active Instagram users. The most popular social network in the world has been covered by a wave of selfies. Millions of stars and ordinary people incessantly posted photos of their faces day and night. Of course, such a large-scale flash mob could not but bring trouble. There are several cases where self-love has become a real tragedy. It is about such cases that he will tell you PEOPLETALK.

Selfie in the bathroom

Nothing boded trouble when a 17-year-old Muscovite Catherine went to the bathroom with my tablet. But the girl did not foresee that a tablet connected to an outlet a few centimeters above the water is the biggest danger. Once Kate decided to take a picture, the device slipped out of her hands and led to instant death.

Selfie behind the wheel

Two young girls from Missouri rushed to the bachelorette party. Happy bride Colette Moreno and her friend Eli Theobald decided to capture such a joyful moment in their life. Bye Eli, who was driving, was overtaking the car in front, her friend tried to take a selfie and asked Eli to smile sweetly at the camera. But at that moment a pickup truck was driving in the oncoming lane. Instant collision claimed life Colette, and here Eli saved by the airbag.

Selfie on the edge of a cliff

An Italian 16-year-old lover of photographing the wonders of nature was pushed by a hobby to fall off a cliff. Isabella Fraciolla In search of inspiration for a new shot, she approached the edge of a 20-meter cliff located in the city of Taranto, the girl lost her balance and fell off a cliff. All the doctors' efforts to bring Isabella back to life were in vain.

Selfie on a rock

Another similar tragedy occurred with a married couple of tourists from Poland... The couple tried to take a selfie at the edge of a cliff. Two small children looked at their parents from nearby. This was the last selfie for the couple who fell off the cliff.

Selfie on the roof of the train

In May 2015, a girl from Romania went to the train station with her friend to take the most unusual selfie. Lying on the roof of a train, 18 year old Anna Ursu raised her leg and touched the wire through which the current with tremendous voltage passed. As a result, the body Anna instantly ignited.

Selfie on the stairs

14 year old Filipina Christina Rosello once decided to take a selfie after leaving school during recess. The student came across a staircase 10 meters high, which the girl climbed up with a phone in her hands. Then everything is as usual: a fall, numerous fractures, a concussion. Doctors did not manage to save the girl's life; after a few hours she was dead.

Selfie on the bridge

The story of this girl is not very different from all the previous ones. The reason for her death was also a fall from a height in an attempt to take a beautiful photo. Climbing the high bridge, young schoolgirl Ksenia Ignatieva from St. Petersburg lost her balance, grabbed a bare wire and fell down on the rails from the electric shock.

Selfie with a pistol

A similar incident occurred in Mexico where a 21-year-old passed away from his seemingly harmless selfie addiction. Oscar Otero Aguilar I often posted photos with alcohol, girls and cars on social networks. But this time it went too far. The young man decided to take a photo with a pistol at his temple. The sudden shot was so loud that all the neighbors immediately woke up and called an ambulance and the police. But save Oscar failed.

#SelfieOlympics

Some time ago Instagram literally dazzled with all kinds of shots of young girls and guys, who passed the baton to each other under the name " olympic selfie". The bottom line was to photograph yourself in an unusual athletic pose or position. 18 year old Oscar Reyes repeatedly took similar photographs. His hobby brought him a lot of pleasure, because his friends generously appreciated all his efforts with likes. But on January 2, 2015, the guy decided to take a picture of himself hanging on the door. Falling from her, Oscar smashed his head and died of terrible blood loss.

There are many sophisticated ways to go to the next world, but how could we have thought a couple of years ago that people would die trying to take a photo at the very edge of an abyss or with a pistol at their temples?

1. 17-year-old Russian schoolgirl from St. Petersburg, Ksenia Ignatieva, only a month did not live up to adulthood. Being at the very top of the railway bridge, the girl lost her balance for a second and fell down. Falling, she caught on a high-voltage cable, which led to instant death.

2. 32-year-old North Carolina (USA), Courtney Sanford, drove along a busy highway, singing the song "Happy" by Pharrell Williams. It was the desire to share happiness with others that made the woman take a dangerous selfie and post a photo on Facebook. This was the very last thing she managed to accomplish before she died. Lost control, a second later, Courtney crashed into a garbage truck and died on the spot.

3. The next of the dangerous selfies, which led to the death, tried to take a Japanese tourist while visiting the Taj Mahal. Choosing a good angle, he stumbled and rolled down the marble steps, knocking down his comrade before that. A friend escaped with a broken leg, but a fan of extreme shots died of a heart attack. His death was far from the first on the steps of the Indian temple and, judging by the trend, is unlikely to be the last.

4. It is difficult to imagine what (or, rather, what) Mexican Oscar Otero was thinking a second before his death, trying to take a selfie with a pistol at his temple.

The result is predictable: the 21-year-old macho put a bullet in his head before he could take a picture. It’s a pity, because now only the pathologist knows what he had in place of the brain.

5. The next of the last selfies before death is simply monstrous in its recklessness. A married couple from Poland, while vacationing in, decided to capture themselves at the most extreme point of Europe, the Cape of Cabo da Roca. A sudden gust of wind threw both of them off the edge of an 80-meter cliff in front of their children, 5 and 6 years old. Psychologists have been working with them for a long time, facing a difficult task: to convince orphans that their parents were normal people.

6. Another candidate for the Darwin Prize is 18-year-old Anna Ursu from Romania. Climbing onto the roof of the train, she wanted to "effectively raise the leg," as her friend, who had miraculously survived, later explained to her. The effect turned out to be quite impressive: hitting a high-voltage wire with her foot, the lover of dangerous selfies immediately flared up like a torch, receiving a discharge of 27,000 volts.

7. Selfies with dangerous animals are also often the cause of death. 32-year-old Spaniard, David Gonzalez, during the traditional festival could not catch himself and the bull in the frame. Carried away, he did not notice how one of the animals ran up to him from behind and literally planted him on the horns. It was not possible to save the unlucky photographer.

8. A resident of Great Britain, while visiting Wales, was so impressed by a raging thunderstorm that he decided to photograph himself in front of lightning. If he hadn't skipped physics class at school, he would have known how dangerous his last selfie at the very top of a hill with a metal stick raised could become. The unlucky photographer did not act as a lightning rod for long: after a few seconds, the first lightning strike ended in his death.

9. If you hardly surprise anyone with an individual photo from an extreme place, then a group selfie taken a moment before death is something new. A group of 24 Indian students and teachers wanted to photograph themselves against the background of the dam, not suspecting that before that, the water from the reservoir had begun to be discharged. As a result, only 5 bodies were found, the rest were missing.

10. Several groups of tourists at once found themselves at the site of the unexpected eruption of the Ontake volcano, in Japan. In a matter of minutes, a dangerous mixture of ash, gas and stones fell on everyone in the vicinity. Few managed to escape, more than 30 people became victims of the volcano.

The most interesting thing began after a while, when the smoke cleared and the rescue operation began. Having found the surviving phones, rescuers were shocked by the latest records. It turns out that when the eruption began, many tourists, instead of fleeing, wasted precious seconds on selfies and filming videos.

One of the online publications estimated that in 2015 the number of victims of bad photos exceeded the number of victims of shark teeth worldwide. The epidemic is only gaining momentum and the most dangerous selfies before death are yet to come ...