A tourist has died after falling off a cliff at a New York state park while taking selfies with her husband last week.
Tourist Nur Aisyah Binte MD Akbar, from Singapore, was hiking with her husband in Minnewaska State Park near the Town of Rochester, New York on December 22.
According to a report by The Messenger, Nur stopped along the Beacon Hill Trail in the state park to take photos with her husband at the edge of a cliff.
However, 39-year-old Nur reportedly lost her footing, slipped, and plummeted nearly 70 feet off the cliff.
The Messenger reports that her husband then called 911 and a New York state police helicopter was called in to transport her to safety.
Nur was then taken to Ellenville Regional Hospital in Ellenville, New York where she tragically succumbed to her injuries and died.
According to New York State Police, the incident remains under investigation.
Nur’s husband Abdul Rauf Bin Mohd paid tribute to his wife in a post on Facebook.
“My heart is broken into pieces and I don’t know how to piece them back together,” Abdul writes.
“I’ve been crying non-stop for the last 12 hours and been really distraught by myself now. You’re my wife, best friend, and soul mate.”
In his Facebook post, Andul said that medical staff tried to resuscitate his wife for nearly 3 hours. However, it was unsuccessful.
Selfie-Related Deaths are a New Public Health Risk
According to recent research, selfie-related deaths constitute a new public health risk — with the most common deaths coming about from people falling off cliffs and waterfalls while taking a photo.
In a paper published in September, researchers found that selfie-related injury and deaths have become a public health concern amid the near ubiquitous use of smartphones and social media apps.
The paper scraped news reports of selfie-related deaths as well as a cross-sectional study by the iO Foundation that found 379 people were killed while taking selfies around the world between January 2008 and July 2021.
The researchers identified falls from height as the most common type of selfie-related injury. They said that tourists were most at risk, with the most common cause of death being falling from cliffs or waterfalls while attempting to take a selfie.
Drowning while attempting to take a selfie was the second most common cause of death.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.