In an unusual incident, five engineering students in Telangana lost their lives after they fell in a reservoir in Warangal while trying to click selfies. The five students, including two girls, had gone to the reservoir for a swim.
The students—Pollineni Vinootn, Patti Sravya Reddy, P Sivasaikrishna, Karne Sivasai, and Sagar Reddy—were all 3rd-year students of Vagdevi Engineering College, Warangal, pursuing their degrees in computer science. They, along with another girl, Ramya, who survived, had gone to the Dharmsagar reservoir on Saturday.
According to a report in Hindustan Times, tragedy stuck when Ramya, while trying to take a selfie on top of rock in between the reservoir, slipped and fell into the water body. The other students jumped in after her to try and save her, but unfortunately the water was very deep and the students all drowned, even though Ramya herself managed to survive the drowning.
Such fatal incidents while clicking selfies have become increasingly common. According to a report in The Telegraph, selfies killed more people than shark attacks in the last year. In fact, in 2015, according to a report by Washington Post, India was the leader in terms of numbers of selfie-related deaths.
As the selfie craze continues to grow, with more and more incidences of selfie-related accidents being recorded throughout the world, the lengths to which people will go to get the perfect selfie and why, have been topics of analysis. The American Psychiatric Association in 2015 announced ‘Selfitis’ as a mental disorder where sufferers incessantly and compulsively take selfies, often with little regard for safety.
Feature Image Source: Reuters (Representational)