London: Teenager dies while trying to click a selfie on train's roof

London, May 15: If you love taking selfies, be cautioned: It can also be fatal. A selfie-obsessed Romanian teenager got electrocuted and burst into flames while trying to click a selfie atop the roof of a train.

Anna Ursu, 18, went to a train station along with a friend in the town, Iasi, to take a special selfie that she had intended to post on Facebook.

But as she lay on top of the train, very close to the high-tension overhead cable carrying 27,000 volts, and stuck one of her legs in the air, she suddenly burst into flames due to high electric shock, Daily Mail reported.

The charge that hit Ursu was so powerful that it caused her 17-year-old friend to be sent flying off the roof of the stationary train.

The teenager died as 50 per cent of her body was covered in burns

A passer-by who saw the horrific incident risked his own life by scrambling on top of the train carriage to extinguish the girl's burning clothes, before calling the emergency services.

Both the teenagers were airlifted to hospital but the 18-year-old died later as 50 per cent of her body was covered in burns. The 17-year-old girl was recovering in the hospital. She told the investigators that the pair had wanted to get the ultimate selfie.

A hospital spokesman said that although the girl had not directly touched the wire, she had come in contact with its electrical field, which was just as deadly.

IANS