Teenage girl falls to death while trying to take selfie

DUBAI: A 16-year-old girl plunged to her death from the 17th floor of a building off Sheikh Zayed Road while she was trying to take a selfie, Dubai police confirmed.

According to the police, the girl tried to take a selfie from the balcony of her parents’ 17th-floor apartment when she fell. She was standing on a chair in the balcony when she lost balance and plunged to death.

According to Dubai Police, the girl’s sister watched her sister falling after she lost her balance.

An investigation has been launched to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the fall.

Dubai Police urged the public to be careful while doing such actions and for parents to monitor their children and youngsters.

Earlier in May 2019, three teenagers were killed while taking selfies on a railway track in India, the country which researchers say has the worst record for selfie-related deaths.

Experts warn that youngsters obsessed with social media are going to extreme lengths in order to post selfies seen as daring and risky

A study carried out by the US National Library of Medicine in 2018 found that a total of 259 selfie-related deaths were reported between 2011 and 2017.

The highest number of incidents and selfie deaths were reported in India followed by Russia, the United States, and Pakistan, the study said.