Young man drowns taking selfie, 6 others killed trying to save him, reports say

A young man slipped and drowned while taking a selfie on an algae-covered platform on the Ganges River in India on Wednesday and six other people died attempting to save him, according to multiple reports.

Shivam Gupta, 19, was taking a selfie on the Ganga Barrage bridge in Kanpur when he slipped, The Telegraph reported. Five of his college friends and a 31-year-old named Mohammad Maqsood were swept away by the current when they jumped in the water to save him, according to the newspaper.

Authorities identified all seven of the people killed, including Satyam Gupta, Shivam Gupta's brother.

All of the victims, save for Maqsood, were 21 years old or younger, according to The Indian Express. They were on the Ganges River for a picnic Wednesday.

At the time of the accident, the river was at particularly high water levels because of heavy rainfall. The rain also made the current more swift, police told The Indian Express.

It's not the first time an attempt at a selfie has killed a young Indian person. Of the 27 "selfie-related" deaths reported worldwide in 2015, roughly half happened in India, according to The Washington Post.

Three students died in May while taking selfies at a similar spot in the Ganges River, according to The Indian Express. Three girls and a bystander also drowned in January after the girls fell into the Arabian Sea while trying to take selfies in Mumbai.

Cox Media Group