The allure of snapping a photo of yourself standing in front of an oncoming train or while firing a gun is tempting, but Russia wants its people to stay safe while taking selfies.
A handy selfie safety guide appeared on the website for Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs on Tuesday in an attempt to prevent further selfie-related deaths.
“We want to remind citizens that the pursuit of ‘likes’ on social networks can lead to… death,” the Interior Ministry’s Eleena Alekseeva said in a statement.
A translation of the post on the ministry’s website explains that self-portrait artists may lose their balance from precarious positions or may not be paying full attention to what’s going on around them when trying to pose before wild animals.
This may sound like common sense, but there have been at least 10 people who have died as a result of unsafe selfies and more than 100 others who have been injured, according to Russia Today.
WATCH: Terrifying video of Russians climbing China’s Shanghai Tower
A 21-year old woman died Saturday after she fell off a bridge trying to capture a selfie with Moscow’s financial district in the background.
Another woman, also 21, nearly died in May after she tried to shoot a selfie with a loaded 9-millimetre rubber-bullet pistol and wound up shooting herself in the head.
The guide shows pictures of various possibly-deadly selfie scenarios — including sitting atop an electrical tower, hanging off the back of a boat and hanging off a speeding train. It will be handed out to people at public events and in classrooms.
It’s not just Russians who could use a lesson in safe selfie best practices.
A young tourist from Singapore lost his balance while taking a photo of himself during a visit to the Indonesian resort island of Bali in May. The Guardian reported 21-year-old Mohamed Aslam Shahul fell off a cliff into the sea and died.
READ MORE: Wimbledon the latest to ban selfie sticks
Romanian teenager Anna Ursu was reportedly electrocuted in May while trying to take the “ultimate selfie” on top of a moving train. The 18-year-old’s leg reportedly hit a live wire, zapping her with as much as 27,000 volts of electricity and setting her on fire, The Daily Mail reported.
And reports in Britain suggested a man killed Sunday was struck by lightning while using a selfie stick to capture the moment during a thunderstorm.
Comments