Two girls visiting waterfall in Kayin State die after falling 60m

Taw Naw Waterfall – via Youtube
Taw Naw Waterfall – via Youtube

Two young girls, both 19, died after falling from the top of a waterfall in Myanmar’s south-eastern Kayin state, according to state media.

On Monday, the Global New Light of Myanmar reported that the two friends were on the top of a waterfall taking pictures when one of them slipped.

Police from the Myawaddy township police station in Kayin State confirmed that the two girls have passed away.

“We are still investigating the case. We can confirm that the two girls fell and died, one near the waterfall and one at the hospital,” a police officer who requested anonymity told Coconuts Yangon over the phone.

In an attempt to save her friend, the other friend grabbed her but both of them tumbled over the edge, falling 60m to the base of the waterfall.

The two friends were on a trip with eight other friends to the Taw Naw Waterfall on Sunday.

After receiving a fatal injury to her head, one of the girls died at the scene. The other died later at the hospital after suffering a broken jaw and serious injuries to her head.

A 2018 global study found that 259 people have died between 2011 and 2017 in what the study calls “selfie deaths”. The average age of those who fell victim to the “selfie” is 23 years old.

Unfortunately, the number of deaths is on the rise. While there were only three reports of selfie-related deaths in 2011, that number grew to 98 and 93 in 2016 and 2017 respectively.  

Among the most common causes of death were drowning, transport accidents and falling.

The study concludes that “no selfie zones” should be designated in popular tourist areas, especially near water, on mountain peaks and over tall buildings to prevent future fatalities related to taking pictures.

Just a little over a year ago, an American tourist fell 20 feet to her death from a pagoda in Bagan after sustaining severe head injuries.

Aung Aung Kyaw, the director of the department of archaeology at the National Museum, told the Myanmar Times in Nov. 2017 that there were signs near pagodas and buildings that explicitly forbid travelers from climbing.

“Actually we don’t allow climbing over pagodas for [viewing] sunrise and sunset anymore. On an archaeological point of view, these pagodas are nearly 1000 years old and suffered a lot of natural disasters,” he told the Myanmar Times.

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