There were dozens of injuries and fatalities this year as people took extreme risks in search of the edgiest shot. Be careful out there 
 
 If 2013 and 2014 were the years when the selfie craze took hold, then 2015 was when we discovered how dangerous they are. 
 
 In January, three Indian college students were killed by a train when they stopped on the road to Agra and tried to take a photograph of themselves in front of it. A fourth friend survived to tell the tale. In the same month, two men in the Ural mountains died while taking a selfie with a hand grenade – after they had removed the pin. In March, seven young men drowned in Nagpur, India, after capsizing a boat while posing on one side. 
 
 In May, Eri Yunanto was killed when he fell into a crater up Mount Merapi in Java, Indonesia; in Bali a Singaporean tourist, Mohamed Aslam Shahul, was killed when he was swept off a cliff by a wave. In Romania, 18-year-old Anna Ursu was killed while climbing on top of a train for a picture. In Ryazan, Russia – still in May – another teen died doing the same thing. 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest A woman perches on a window ledge in Tokyo to take a selfie. Photograph: Petri Artturi Asikainen/Getty Images 
 
 In August it was David González Lopez, 32, killed photographing himself during the bull run in Villaseca de la Sagra, Spain. In September, a teenaged Russian urban climbing enthusiast fell from the roof of a nine-storey building. 
 
 Three people in Yellowstone national park in the US were gored by bison while taking selfies too close to them. At least two Americans were taken to hospital after being bitten by rattlesnakes. Then there are the many, many people who accidentally shot themselves while posing with loaded guns. 
 
 In the past, Darwin awards have been declared for deaths like these, attributing the victim’s death to their foolishness, but really, it seems fair to put most down to youthful misadventure – egged on by the promise of a souvenir photograph and an online audience. 
 
 In Russia, selfie deaths are now becoming a matter of national concern. “Since the beginning of the year, we are talking about some hundred cases of injuries for sure,” said Yelena Alexeyeva, an aide to the interior minister – and she was speaking in July. 
 
 As a result, the interior ministry launched a public safety campaign, warning people not to pose in dangerous places, and to keep their wits about them. Perhaps some day, ideally soon, the “safe selfie” lesson will be a fact of life in the world’s schools. 
 
 • This article was amended on 30 January 2015 to remove a reference to Kristi Kafcaloudis, who fell from the Trolltunga rock in Norway. Although initial reports suggested she was taking a selfie at the time, her family subsequently said she was trying to get past other people posing for photographs. ||||| A 66-year-old Japanese tourist has died, and his travel companion has been injured, after falling down stairs while attempting to take a selfie at the Taj Mahal. 
 
 The man's death raises the selfie-related death toll this year — to 12. To put that in perspective, in 2015 there have so far been eight deaths caused by shark attacks. 
 
 Image: Donte Neal, Mashable 
 
 It sounds like a joke, but unfortunately it isn't: The deaths are a tragic reminder to travelers that focusing on a phone screen instead of unfamiliar surroundings is not safe. 
 
 Four of the selfie deaths this year, like the tourist, identified as Hideto Ueda, were caused by falling. 
 
 The next leading cause of deaths involving selfies was being hit or injured by trains, either because the individual was taking trying to get a photo with a train or because the photo they wanted involved getting on dangerous equipment. 
 
 It's not clear if the number of daredevil selfies is increasing, but more and more tourists are making headlines because of their dangerous attempts at a memorable photo. Parks have closed because visitors keep trying to take selfies with bears, bull runs — an already dangerous activity — have had to expressly outlaw selfie-taking, and even Tour de France cyclists are concerned about selfie danger. 
 
 With no idea how far some people will go for a great selfie, many landmarks have begun banning selfies — or at least selfie sticks. As Conde Nast Traveler pointed out in their article on selfies vs. sharks, in July the Russian Interior Ministry released a brochure, warning about cool selfies that "could cost you your life." Selfie-takers are urged to take precaution with weapons, ledges, dangerous animals, trains and live wires. 
 
 "Before taking a selfie, everyone should think about the fact that racing after a high number of 'likes' could lead him on a journey to death and his last extreme photo could turn out to be posthumous," an aide to Russia's interior minister told Al Jazeera. ||||| Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The tourist had slipped while taking a selfie at the royal gate near the monument 
 
 A Japanese tourist has died after allegedly slipping down the stairs at India's Taj Mahal monument. 
 
 Eyewitness Sagar Singh told BBC Hindi that the tourist fell while taking a selfie at the Taj Mahal's Royal Gate. 
 
 Police said he lost consciousness immediately after the fall and succumbed to head injuries in hospital. 
 
 The Taj Mahal, a 17th Century mausoleum built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan after his wife's death, attracts about 12,000 visitors a day. 
 
 Agra tourist police officer Sushant Gaur told BBC Hindi that the Japanese tourist had been with three other people when the incident occurred. 
 
 One of his colleagues fractured his leg, after both fell from the staircase of the monument in the afternoon, police said. 
 
 The Japanese embassy has been informed about the death, and an investigation is being conducted into the incident. 
 
 There have been several deaths linked to selfies in recent years. 
 
 Earlier this year, the Russian government reportedly launched a campaign to make young people think twice before snapping selfies in risky situations. 
 
 In May, a 21-year-old woman survived accidentally shooting herself in the head while posing for a selfie with a gun in Moscow. There have also been several cases of children being electrocuted while taking selfies on top of railway carriages in Russia. 
 
 In August, a man in Spain was gored to death by a bull while taking a selfie at the annual bull running festival in the town of Villaseca de la Sagra.
– The Washington Post takes a deep dive into the field of selfie research, and it's come up with a disturbing number: The paper says 27 people died while taking selfies in 2015, and in some countries, it's become a major headache. Nearly half of those deaths occurred in India, which has started imposing "no-selfie zones" in places where the activity "can be dangerous," the BBC reports. Russia's not far behind, with the Guardian noting it's become a "matter of national concern" there. "Since the beginning of [2015], we are talking about some hundred cases of injuries for sure," a Russian interior minister aide said last year. And the UK's Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents in November warned locals not to take "storm selfies" during some particularly bad weather, Sky News reports. Some of the more bizarre or notable selfie cases last year: A Japanese tourist suffered fatal head injuries after tumbling down the steps of the Taj Mahal. A man was gored to death in Spain taking a photo during his run with the bulls. A Russian teen plummeted from a nine-story building while trying to bulk up his compilation of pics taken in dangerous places. (By mid-September, more people had died by selfie than shark in 2015.)