Indian student dies after attempted selfie with approaching train

Gunasekharan, 21, was flung at a distance of about 100 feet

A student in India's Tamil Nadu has died while trying to take a 'selfie' with an oncoming train in the background.

The 21-year-old engineering student was hit by a fast-moving train on Sunday, according to police. The accident took place in the middle of the night when the student was returning from New Year festivities.

Gunasekharan, a resident of Dindigul district, was flung at a distance of about 100 feet upon impact. He was studying at a private college in the suburbs of the city.



Earlier this year, another Indian teenager was struck and killed after he tried to take a photo of himself in front of an oncoming train. The passenger train ran over the boy shortly after he stepped onto railway tracks to snap the picture in the southern city of Chennai, while walking home with friends “It was a freak accident. More youngsters are now addicted to taking selfies,” railway police officer S Ramuthai from the Chennai suburb of Tambaram told AFP. The boy, reportedly aged 16, had spent the day visiting the zoo.

This article originally appeared on Hindustan Times.