Killfie: India beats Pakistan to top selfie death list
- In India, most selfie deaths were water-related.
- The tourism ministry has also instructed the state governments to notify 'no-selfie zones' at popular tourist spots across the country.
- India is followed by Pakistan with nine deaths.
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According to a new study conducted by Carnegie Mellon University and Indraprastha Institute of Information Delhi, India has most selfie-related deaths in last two years than any other country in the world.
The analysis titled 'Me, Myself and My Killfie: Characterizing and Preventing Selfie Deaths' uncovered that between March 2014 and September this year 127 deaths have been reported while taking a selfie and among them, 76 deaths have occurred in India.
In 2015, one person died while trying to take a selfie in front of an oncoming train, a boat tipped causing multiple deaths while trying to a groupie (group selfie), a person plunged to death while trying to click a selfie on a cliff that gave way, slippery edge of a river canal also proved fatal for selfie clickers, and another Japanese tourist died while taking selfie at Taj Mahal.
In India, most selfie deaths were water-related.
In recent times, authorities in India have taken steps to address the issue of this new public safety concern. The tourism ministry has also instructed the state governments to notify 'no-selfie zones' at popular tourist spots across the country.
In fact, last year 'no-selfie zones' were also marked in many areas in Kumbh Mela to avoid the possibility of stampedes due to selfie takers.
India is followed by Pakistan with nine deaths, the US with eight deaths, and Russia with six deaths reported in past two years.
The study also found that men are likely to take more dangerous selfies than women after analysing thousands of selfies available on Twitter. Also, that majority of selfie victims are below 24 years of age.
Globally, most selfie deaths have been caused by 'falling off a building or mountain' and the second cause of highest selfie-related death is getting hit by a train.
The authors of this study hope that these revelations will serve as a warning and also inspire to develop a mobile phone technology that will warn selfie-takers of any danger.
