Selfie-taking teen killed instantly after climbing onto train roof

WARNING – DISTRESSING IMAGES: A 16-year-old boy has died after he was electrocuted while climbing on top of a train to take a selfie.

The teen, identified as Sohel Mansoori by local media, was with friends in Chhatarpur, about 560km southeast of New Delhi in India, when the tragedy occurred.

After praying with his friends on Thursday morning, the group arrived at the Chhatarpur railway station where Sohel climbed a train and came in contact with live wires.

He died immediately, according to the Times of India.

A teenager poses for a photo on the left, wearing a black and white check shirt. On the right, wearing the same outfit, the boy's body can be seen lying on top of a train after he was electrocuted.
The teen was electrocuted after touching live wires on the train in an attempt to take a selfie. Source: Times of India

Photos from before the accident show the boy posing for a photo, wearing a black and white gingham shirt with a scarf around his neck.

A second photo taken shortly after the teen’s death shows his lifeless body slumped on top of an orange train.

Family members blame railway staff for death

After finding out about Sohel’s death, his family reportedly attended the train station and assaulted the station master, The Free Press Journal reported.

The furious family members allegedly dragged the worker out of his office, beat him up and threw him on the railway track.

The station master lodged a complaint with police following the incident.

India holds record for most selfie deaths

Tragically, India holds the title of the country with the world's worst record for selfie deaths.

In 2017, three Indian college students were killed by an express train while taking photos of themselves on a track in the town of Bidadi.

"We found their mutilated bodies on the track and investigations have been taken up," R S Bylanjaiah, a local railway police officer, told AFP at the time.

He said the three had parked their motorbikes on the embankment below the 30-metre bridge before walking to its centre to take pictures.

In 2018, a video of a man being hit by a train while taking a selfie went viral.

Incredibly, the man survived the brush with death in the south Indian city of Hyderabad.

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