5 tourists fall off cliff while clicking selfie in Goa, 2 severely hurt

Five tourists were recently injured -- two of them severely – after falling off a cliff while clicking selfies at Anjuna village in Goa, police said on Thursday.

The Goa police have asked a sub-divisional magistrate to record the statement of two of the women who were seriously injured in the incident. The five people fell off the cliff on February 22 when a gate they were leaning opened, the police said.

The incident occurred near hillside cottages where the tourists were staying.

“Two women fell on their back on a stone and are currently admitted in a private hospital. The doctors have said that they might be paralysed for life,” police inspector Paresh Naik said.

The three others were discharged after primary treatment, he said.

“The family members of the two women have refused to file any formal police complaint, but we have requested the sub-divisional magistrate to record their statements,” Naik said.

The police refused to reveal the identities of the women, but said the people injured in the accident are in their late 20s.

The selfie craze seems to have gone very awry in India.

The Washington Post has reported that of at least 27 “selfie-related” deaths around the world last year, about half occurred in India. Indians were killed by an oncoming train, falling out of a boat, falling off a cliff, falling into a canal and drowning in the sea while taking selfies. In September, a Japanese died after falling down the steps of the Taj Mahal while taking a selfie.