An apparent ‘selfie obsession’ involving youths led to tragic incidents in Mumbai and Jammu on Saturday.
College girl Tarannum, out on a picnic with her friends, slipped and fell in the sea off Bandra Bandstand while reportedly taking selfies. Hearing their screams, a local youth, Ramesh, jumped into the sea to rescue the girl. However, the duo is believed to have been swept away in the high tide and has not been traced yet. They are feared to have drowned.
Tarannum, along with two of her friends, all residents of Bainganwadi in suburban Govandi and aged between 18 and 19 years, had come to the seaface to picnic this morning, police officials said. The Bandra police and the fire brigade are carrying out rescue operation.
The girls were taking selfies, standing on the rock, close to the Bandra Worli Sea link just 50 metres from the shore when the water suddenly rose. “They did not notice the rising water level and remained on the rock taking pictures. One of the girls was pulled into the water due to high tide,” said a police official.
Mumbai Police spokesperson DCP Dhananjay Kulkarni said, “One youngster Ramesh Walunj tried to save her but unfortunately both of them fell into the sea. Our sagari boats are conducting the rescue operation with the help of fire brigade but it seems difficult to trace them during high tide. We hope both of them are safe.”
Meanwhile, in Jammu, a 20-year-old died while trying to take a selfie atop a fort Reasi district. The deceased, identified as Abhishek Gupta (20), went to the Reasi Fort along with his three friends on Friday, a police official said.
Abhishek climbed to the top of the fort to take a selfie. Suddenly, he slipped and fell on a boulder which resulted in serious head injuries.
He was rushed to the district hospital in Reasi where doctors declared him brought dead. “Despite his friends warning him not to go to the extreme edge to take a selfie, he insisted and lost his life,” the official said. He said the body was handed over to the family members after conducting all formalities.