Russia launches `safe selfie` campaign after series of deaths

  08 July 2015    Read: 1544
Russia launches `safe selfie` campaign after series of deaths
Police instructions warn against taking "selfies" on train tracks and posing with tigers
Alarmed by the number of Russians who have been killed while taking photos of themselves with smartphones, Russian police have started a new campaign called "Safe Selfies."

The instructions issued on Tuesday warn against standing on railroad tracks, climbing onto roofs or posing with a gun or a tiger.

"A cool selfie could cost you your life," the interior ministry warned in a new leaflet packed with tips such as "a selfie with a weapon kills".

These are some of the ways that police say at least 10 Russians have been killed and 100 injured while taking "selfies" this year.

The most recent death occurred last week when a woman fell from a bridge in Moscow.

In January, two young men blew themselves up in the Ural Mountains while taking a selfie holding a hand grenade with the pin pulled out. The mobile phone with the selfie survived as a record.

Interior ministry spokesman Yelena Alexeyeva said "along with the advantages of the modern world there are also new threats. We want to remind citizens that the pursuit of `likes` in social media can put them on the road to death."

"Unfortunately we have noted recently that the number of accidents caused by lovers of self-photography is constantly increasing."

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