An amateur photographer died after falling 40 feet while snapping a selfie on a cliff edge in Brazil.
Igor de Oliveira Rodrigues Dias, a logistics analyst, visited Joatinga Beach to celebrate getting his dream job on November 10.
According to his mother, Luiza Rodrigues, “In the morning, he had signed a contract with a company he wanted to work for. So he went out with a friend to have a little celebration on the beach.”
Taking a selfie from a massive rock overlooking the beach ended up with him losing his life in a freak accident.
Dias attempted to take a selfie while standing atop the rock. Dias lost his balance and fell 40 feet to the ground, hitting his head on a rock.
Dias was pronounced dead at the scene by firefighters who arrived at the location. He was airlifted out of the area.
Dias’s family has been devastated by the loss. His parents were extremely proud of him. As a result of Dias’s death, his family is heartbroken. According to Luiza, “He was an only child, he studied, and he had a whole life ahead of him.”
He earned two postgraduate degrees from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
Jonas Dias, Igor’s grief-stricken father, responded, “He died before me, and I don’t accept that. I think that every son has to bury his father, and not the father bury his son. It was a tragedy.”
Taking a selfie should be done with the utmost safety in mind. “We always have to be safe, never get close to the edge of the rocks, ask someone to take a picture, if necessary,” said Rio de Janeiro Fire Department spokesman Fabio Contreiras.
In recent years, selfie deaths have increased. A family of six drowned at Ramdaha Falls in Chhattisgarh, India, in August. Two teenage sisters were taking selfies in this case. They ended up falling into the water, however. There were four relatives who attempted to save them, but they were unsuccessful. Sadly, all six members of the family died.