In an odd story with serious safety concerns, Mashable.com reports that 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 eight deaths caused by shark attacks.
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.
This “Best Group Selfie” noted on Reddit, was later asserted to be a Photoshop composite.
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.