Chinese tourist falls off train in Sri Lanka while snapping scenic selfie

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time this kind of thing has happened

The Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka has been forced once again to remind tourists travelling in the scenic tropical country to exercise extreme caution when taking their selfies while dangling off trains.

Sri Lanka boasts some of the world’s most spectacular train trips, tracks that cut through dense jungles, run around foggy tea estates, and overlook the Indian Ocean. While these views may be stunningly beautiful, they are also extremely dangerous.

On Monday, a female Chinese tourist fell from one train while putting her head and body outside of the carriage to take a photo. She suffered a head injury in the fall.

Sadly, this is far from the first time that this kind of accident has happened. Last June, a Sri Lanka railway spokesman was quoted as saying that the country’s railway system had seen 28 deaths since the start of that year, the majority of which were mobile phone related.

At that time, the deaths of a 12-year-old boy and his 24-year-old brother prompted a selfie crackdown. The two were taking photographs on a particularly scene stretch of track outside of Colombo when they were killed by a train, the boy even being decapitated.

“There are some who want to post videos and pictures of themselves in front of moving trains,” the railway spokesperson explained. “Unfortunately, some are unable to get out of the way in time and get killed.”

Often train victims are tourists from elsewhere in the country who want a selfie in front of the Indian Ocean. However, Chinese tourists have also been injured and even killed while attempting to take photos.

Back in 2016, a 24-year-old Chinese woman was killed while seated on an express train footboard, trying to take a selfie with a friend. Unfortunately, the footboard was the same height as an oncoming platform which threw her off the train to her death.

After each accident, the Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka has sent out notices to tourists, warning them to be careful when taking photos on trains. However, these warnings appear to be doing little good.

[Images via Xinhua]