Selfie fail: Five tourists tumble off a cliff in self-portrait screw-up

Sure, if you’re at home or in a park, you probably don’t need to worry too much about your surroundings. However, if you’re at the top of a cliff, it’s probably wise to check things like how close you are to the edge.

Huddling together to grab a group shot recently, five buddies on vacation in the Indian state of Goa tumbled off the top of a cliff, with two of the friends sustaining serious injuries, local media reported.

It’s not known how far the group fell, but the report’s use of the word “cliff” suggests the drop was somewhat considerable. The friends were apparently leaning on a gate at the cliff edge when it gave way, causing them to topple back and fall off.

Perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised that the incident took place in India. A report at the start of the year revealed the selfie-snapping craze has, by way of clumsy accidents, claimed more lives in the country than in any other nation around the world.

With India the second most populous country in the world, maybe the statistic isn’t particularly remarkable, though bear in mind that at the current time only around 25 percent of its people own a smartphone. Heck, imagine the selfie-related carnage if smartphone penetration was at the U.S. rate of 80 percent. It really doesn’t bear thinking about.

Last month, concern over death-by-selfie incidents led officials in the Indian city of Mumbai to impose 16 no-selfie zones at locations around the city deemed too dangerous for self-portrait photography.

The action followed a string of fatal accidents across the country in 2015 that included everything from being hit by a train to falling down steps at the Taj Mahal to drowning in the sea. Yes, all while attempting to take a selfie.

Reports suggest there were 27 selfie-related deaths around the world last year, more than half occurring in India.