“A Physical Dose Of Common Sense”: Tourist Leans Out Of Train For Photos, Slams Into Tunnel Wall
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Atouristfrom China wascritically injuredafter leaning out of a moving train inSri Lankafor photos and slamming her head into a tunnel wall.
The 35-year-old unidentified woman suffered severe head and leg injuries and was rushed to the hospital, theSouth China Morning Postreported.
The incident occurred on March 9 while she was traveling from the village of Nanu Oya to Badulla, situated in the central hills of the country.
She was reportedly taking photos with her body hanging out of the moving train when her head hit a tunnel wall, causing her to fall, the outlet reported.
A 35-year-old Chinese tourist was critically injured in Sri Lanka after leaning out of a moving train to take photos
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A day after the accident, the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka issued a statement on its website, remindingto “stay away from train doors and do not lean out of trains for photos.”
It also reminded travelers to behave responsibly around railway lines.
According to the, the type of photos the woman was trying to recreate are popular among tourists in Sri Lanka.
A local tour guide told the Chinese mediaHongxing Newsthat many people suffered injuries and even lost their lives after attempting the photo trick.
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The tour guide recommended that those who want to take photos should board Calypso, a slow train designed especially for that purpose.
After the incident, the woman was rushed to Haputale Regional Hospital and then transferred to two other hospitals for special care.
In February, a 53-year-old Russian tourist inlost her life when she tried to take a selfie while hanging from a train’s footboard on the Podi Menike rail line. She reportedly hit a rock and fell off the train.
The woman was rushed to the hospital after slamming her head into a tunnel wall
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Last December, anothertourist in Sri Lanka was struck by tree branches and fell from a moving train after she hung her whole upper body out for videos.
The woman suffered minor injuries.
Thereported in the same month that an Iranian woman sustained critical head injuries after leaning out of a train door and hitting a tunnel while attempting to take anear Ohiya and Idalgashinna.
The Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka issued a warning for tourists to avoid leaning out of trains
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The latest incident ignited a discussion on travel safety, with people warning about the risks of putting one’s life in danger to follow trends or create eye-catching content for social media.
“I once tried to lean out of a moving train for a once-in-a-lifetime shot, but now I think of that moment, I feel scared,” one netizen shared. “What do we travel for? A photo or real experience of the world?”
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“Do not copy them. Daredevil behavior might look good but is really dangerous,” another said.
“Losing your life over a photo is not worth it,” a third added, while a fourth lamented, “The insane stuff people do to get viral is unbelievable.”
The photo stunt the woman was attempting is popular among tourists in Sri Lanka
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A separate user wrote: “Sadly, this would not deter others from doing it as they value their likes and engagement higher than their life.”
Some described the incident as a “physical dose of common sense.”
“Don’t understand why some people are using the [crying laughing] emoji. I don’t see the joke here. Are you some sadist?” someone else said in response to those calling the incident a case of “social Darwinism.”
Another user penned: “The woman already paid a heavy price. Let’s hope she recovers from her injuries soon and learns from her mistake.”
Previous similar accidents in Sri Lanka included a Russian tourist losing her life in February 2025 and an Iranian tourist sustaining critical injuries in December 2024
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A 2018 study shared by thesuggested that selfie-related fatalities had “become an emerging problem,” with at least 259 people having lost their lives internationally between October 2011 and November 2017.
Falls from height, drowning, and transport were the most common circumstances for the tragedies— with the highest number of cases reported in India, followed by Russia, the US, and Pakistan.
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“‘No selfie zones’ areas should be declared across tourist areas especially places such as water bodies, mountain peaks, and over tall buildings to decrease the incidence of selfie-related [fatalities],” the authors of the study note.
Another study published by thefound that, between January 2008 and July 2021, an estimated 379 people had lost their lives while taking selfies, with the mean age of the deceased being 24.4 years.
The incident sparked discussions about people attempting dangerous photo stunts just for the sake of a few likes
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Marina Urman
Writer,BoredPanda staff
Marina Urman
Writer,BoredPanda staff
Marina is a journalist at Bored Panda. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she holds a Bachelor of Social Science. In her spare time, you can find her baking, reading, or watching documentaries. Her main areas of interest are pop culture, literature, and education.
Karina Babenok
Author,BoredPanda staff
Karina Babenok
Author,BoredPanda staff
As a visual editor in the News team, I look for the most interesting pictures and comments to make each post interesting and informative through images, so that you aren’t reading only blocks of text. I joined Bored Panda not that long ago, but in this short amount of time I have covered a wide range of topics: from true crime to Taylor Swift memes (my search history is very questionable because of that).In my freetime, I enjoy spending time at the gym, gaming, binging Great British Bake Off and adding yet another tattoo artist that I would love to get a tattoo from to my pinterest board.
I think this covers it.
About Bored Panda: “Bored Panda’s mission is to spread 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀 and highlight top artists from around the world. Born as a small side project in a dorm room in 2009, today we stand proud as the leading art, design, photography and 𝗮𝗹𝗹-𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 publisher. ” 🤔😬
I think of BoredPanda as an internet version of a subset of the Readers’ Digest.
It’s the reddit readers digest
@Ru Bee, by gawd, you’ve got the right of it! 😃
Since it’s an aggregator, that’s exactly what it is. We needn’t visit 25 sites to see everything, just like Readers Digest makes (made? Is it still around?) it so you needn’t buy 25 magazines, papers, and books. That’s why I appreciate aggregators.
I miss those days.
the ‘all around entertainment publisher’ is their loophole. AITAs… are you not entertained??
This comment has been deleted.
Maybe that will knock some sense into her.
🤣
We need to make the Darwin Award a real thing.
It is a real thing, awarded every year.
They need a 2nd place one for runner-ups.
There actually is one. Check it out it’s pretty insane.
What for full on stupidity lol yup we need that cos this would def win this yrs no question !
To qualify for an award, one must have permanently removed oneself from the gene pool. either through déath or irreparable damage to reproductive capabilities.
Tragically, the cure for stupidity is often death.
I think this covers it.
About Bored Panda: “Bored Panda’s mission is to spread 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀 and highlight top artists from around the world. Born as a small side project in a dorm room in 2009, today we stand proud as the leading art, design, photography and 𝗮𝗹𝗹-𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 publisher. ” 🤔😬
I think of BoredPanda as an internet version of a subset of the Readers’ Digest.
It’s the reddit readers digest
@Ru Bee, by gawd, you’ve got the right of it! 😃
Since it’s an aggregator, that’s exactly what it is. We needn’t visit 25 sites to see everything, just like Readers Digest makes (made? Is it still around?) it so you needn’t buy 25 magazines, papers, and books. That’s why I appreciate aggregators.
I miss those days.
the ‘all around entertainment publisher’ is their loophole. AITAs… are you not entertained??
This comment has been deleted.
Maybe that will knock some sense into her.
🤣
We need to make the Darwin Award a real thing.
It is a real thing, awarded every year.
They need a 2nd place one for runner-ups.
There actually is one. Check it out it’s pretty insane.
What for full on stupidity lol yup we need that cos this would def win this yrs no question !
To qualify for an award, one must have permanently removed oneself from the gene pool. either through déath or irreparable damage to reproductive capabilities.
Tragically, the cure for stupidity is often death.
We’re also onand
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