Man plunges into river while ‘taking a selfie’
Better check your selfie before you wreck your selfie.
A man in India is lucky to be alive after falling into a river during a selfie session gone horribly awry.
An Instagram post depicting his miraculous rescue is blowing up online.
According to Jam Press, the near-miss occurred while Gopal Pundlik Chavan, 30, had been exploring the Ajanta caves, a series of majestic Buddhist cave temples carved into the rocks in Maharashtra.
Disaster struck after the adventurer reportedly tried to take a selfie and ended up plunging into a river.
Thankfully, Chavan survived the fall, after which he was fished out by authorities and Samaritans.
Harrowing footage shows the moment that the climber was extracted from the water with a long rope manned by over 10 people.
Gopal Pundlik Chavan survived after plunging into a river while snapping a selfie. Jam Press Vid/TIM
The clip concludes with bystanders pulling the dangling man past a roaring waterfall and to safety atop the cliffs.
Rescuers said the man started swimming after the plunge, which gave them more time to extract him from the canyon.
He should thank his lucky stars he’s alive as many high-altitude selfie-takers haven’t been so fortunate.
He had been exploring the Ajanta caves, a series of Buddhist cave temples in Maharashtra. Jam Press Vid/TIM
It took over 10 people to pull Chavan to safety. Jam Press Vid/TIM
Just this past fall, a sightseer died after plummeting 40 feet while snapping a cliff-side selfie at a scenic hot spot in Brazil.
In fact, a 2020 study found that more people die taking self-portraits than perish due to shark attacks.
Source: New York Post
