We get the allure of snapping selfies. Maybe you have on a killer outfit, or maybe you think your hair looks exceptionally well today, or you’re travelling and want to share it with your friends, family, and/or followers. Unfortunately in the case of 27-year old Sandra Manuela Da Costa Macedo, her attempt at trying to take a selfie resulted in her death.
According to reports (and a somewhat sickening footage), Macedo was on the 27th floor of a high-rise building and was trying to take a selfie. The video in question shows her perched on the railings where according to speculation, strong gusts of wind at that time might have caused her to lose her balance and fall over the edge, tumbling to her death.
Apparently construction workers who were working on a neighboring tower block yelled out to Macedo warning her to get down from the railing, but it seems that the strong winds might have caused their voices to get lost. The incident is still under investigation by local police, but so far the prevailing theory is that a gust of wind was what caused Macedo to lose her balance.
Following the tragedy, Panama’s Fire Service published a warning on Twitter saying, “Don’t risk your life for a selfie. It’s more important to lose a minute in life than your life in a minute.” Unfortunately Macedo’s death is not the first death by selfie. A recent study by the BBC has revealed that there have been at least 250 deaths linked to selfies between 2011 and 2017.