UK Edition
Selfie horror as 6 men die trying to rescue drowning friend in Ganges river
One man’s attempt to take a selfie while standing in the Ganges river has resulted in seven deaths, after six others drowned one-by-one attempting to save him - and one another.
Even for India, which has the unenviable record of more ‘selfie deaths’ per year than any other country, the scale of the tragedy is unprecedented.
The accident took place at the Ganga Barrage bridge in Kanpur (formerly Cawnpore) on Wednesday, when Shivam Gupta, 19, slipped from a sloped, algae-covered platform that leads down to the river.
Five of his college friends, as well as a 31-year-old local called Maqsood, jumped in to try to save him but were all swept away by the current, according to a survivor. Two of the victims, Shivam and Satyam Gupta, were brothers.
The river is currently running high and with a strong current due to the arrival of heavy monsoon rains, which have hit northern and central Indian the past week.
Despite the danger, the partially-submerged platform is a popular spot for taking photographs and bathing in the river, which is considered holy by Hindus.
Since September last year, 24 persons have drowned in the river at Kanpur, mainly youths, officials said.
“Youngsters who throng the Ganga barrage in large numbers often risk their lives while bathing in the river,” Shalabh Mathur, a senior police chief, told the Indian Express, referring to the Ganges by its Hindi name.
“They go deep into the river and slip on the rocks. Before they can realise what went wrong on their part, they are caught in the swirls of Ganga.”
Following the tragedy, district authorities have now ordered the construction of barriers around the Ganga Barrage bridge, and police will be deployed to arrest anyone who ventures onto the sloped platform.
Half of all recorded deaths resulting from self-taken photographs took place in India last year.
So far this year, a man in Kerala was seriously injured taking a selfie with an elephant at a temple festival in April, and a teenager in Chennai was killed by a train after posing near railway tracks.
Police in Mumbai have called for “no selfie zones” to be introduced at popular but dangerous locations after a tragic accident claimed two lives in January.
India overtook the US this year to become the world’s second-largest smartphone market, with 220 million users, behind only China.