Russia launches 'safe selfie' guide amidst series of deaths

Russia 

Russian police on Tuesday launched a campaign urging people to take safer selfies after around 100 were injured and dozens died this year in gruesome accidents while striking high-risk poses. 

"A cool selfie could cost you your life," the interior ministry warned in a new leaflet packed with tips such as "a selfie with a weapon kills". That warning comes after a 21-year-old woman in Moscow accidentally shot herself in the head in May while taking a selfie while holding a pistol. She suffered head injuries but survived.

That was just one in a string of recent selfie-related accidents. In January, two young men blew themselves up in the Urals while taking a selfieholding a hand grenade with the pin pulled out. The cell phone with the selfiesurvived as a record.

In May, a teenager in the Ryazan region died while attempting to take a selfie as he climbed on a railway bridge and accidentally came into contact with live wires. "Unfortunately we have noted recently that the number of accidents caused by lovers of self-photography is constantly increasing," said Yelena Alexeyeva, an aide to the interior minister.

"Since the beginning of the year we are talking about some hundred cases of injuries for sure." Selfies have also led to "dozens of deadly accidents," she added."The problem really exists and leads to very unfortunate consequences."