The most common locations and
causes of selfie-related accidents
Despite the risks, some people will go to some very extreme lengths to get the perfect selfie for social media.
While scaling a skyscraper, standing right by the edge of a cliff, or posing next to a wild animal might all rack up the likes, these types of daredevil selfies can have deadly consequences.
We’ve analysed every reported selfie accident since 2011 and found 497 people killed or injured in 283 separate incidents in search of the perfect snap. Updated in October 2026, the research shows the kinds of dangerous and life-threatening situations people put themselves in to take a selfie, and how the risks are changing.
Half of all animal-related selfie accidents have happened since 2024
Of the 22 reported selfie accidents involving animals, 11 have happened since the start of 2024. That is as many as in the nine years before it put together, and 2025 was the worst year on record, with six.
Recent cases include an Indian tourist attacked by a tiger in Thailand while posing for a selfie (2025), a man killed after climbing into a lion enclosure at a zoo in Tirupati, India (2024), a man mauled to death by a bear in Romania (2025), a skier mauled by a snow leopard in China (2026) and a man killed by a black bear in the United States after taking selfies with it (2026).
Keep your distance, stay behind barriers, and never approach a wild animal for a photo, however calm it seems.
While the majority of countries thankfully only experienced one or two reported selfie accidents since 2011, there were a handful of countries which stood out as having had a high number of incidents.
244 deaths/injuries
India has had far more selfie-related accidents than any other country, with 244 people killed or injured since 2011, almost half of the worldwide total. The reasons aren’t fully clear, but India has a high proportion of people under 30, and it has been suggested that visual culture is especially strong there, so more people take selfies. Many incidents happen at lakes, dams, waterfalls and railway lines.
40 deaths/injuries
40 people have been killed or injured in the United States, from a range of causes. Some were road and rail accidents, a shocking number involved firearms, and others were falls in national parks such as Yosemite. In 2026, a man was killed by a black bear after taking a series of selfies with it.
30 deaths/injuries
30 people have been killed or injured in Indonesia, most of them in a single tragedy. In 2021, a boat carrying 20 people capsized on a reservoir in Central Java when the passengers moved to one side for a group selfie, leaving nine dead and eleven injured. Volcano craters, including Mount Merapi and Mount Slamet, have also claimed lives.
Unfortunately, there are a number of different ways that people have either been injured or lost their lives while taking a selfie, some of which are more unusual than others.
155 deaths/injuries
Drowning is the most common outcome of a selfie accident, with 155 people killed or injured. Many incidents involve groups: one person slips into a river, a lake or the sea, and friends or family drown trying to save them.
124 deaths/injuries
A lot of the incidents on our list came about from people trying to get the most impressive shots possible, whether that’s through stunning natural beauty or performing daredevil stunts, but either way, letting your guard down when at great heights is extremely dangerous.
78 deaths/injuries
There’s a reason that it’s illegal to use your phone while driving, but many of the transport-related accidents on our list actually relate to people being hit by trains, or even through causing aeroplane or helicopter crashes.
While some of the locations where people have had accidents taking selfies are quite clearly dangerous, others are more unusual, and show how important it is to always be aware of your surroundings.
92 deaths/injuries
Railway lines are fairly obviously dangerous places where you shouldn’t be trespassing, which is why it’s so shocking to see just how many people have either died or been injured while taking selfies on them, whether that’s being hit by a train or electrocuted by the power lines.
50 deaths/injuries
A selfie right on the edge of a dramatic cliff face with spectacular views in the background understandably makes for a great picture, but when there are no safety barriers in place, the dangers are clear to see. Unfortunately, 50 people have been reported as either dying or being injured by falling off a cliff while taking a selfie.
49 deaths/injuries
Lakes and reservoirs account for 49 deaths and injuries, often when a boat capsizes as passengers stand up or crowd to one side to pose. In India, seven young people drowned on Mangrul Lake near Nagpur when their boat tipped over as they stood up for a selfie.
The most common locations and causes of selfie-related accidents ranked
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All accidents were sourced from Wikipedia’s list of selfie-related injuries and deaths, which lists selfie-related injuries and deaths since 2011, as reported in various online news articles.
Note that while these are all of the incidents that we could find reports for, it’s likely that many selfie-related accidents have gone unreported, so the actual numbers could, in fact, be much higher.
Last updated 12 October 2026. We grouped each incident by the type of place it happened, and left out two incidents on the list that were homicides rather than accidents. Photos of Indonesia and the lake: Thomas Hirsch (= user Ravn) (CC BY-SA 3.0); kutu_jangkrik (CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons.
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