Hijackers, bulls, bears, grenades: the dangerous art of the ultimate selfie

While being held captive on a hijacked Egyptian plane on Tuesday, Ben Innes’s first thought to fill the time was to ask his captor for a selfie. Beaming from ear to ear, Innes is pictured standing next to a man who has what looks like an explosives belt around his waist.

The 26-year-old Aberdeen native was one of three passengers and four crew held until the end of the hostage siege, after Seif Eldin Mustafa hijacked the EgyptAir flight bound for Cairo from Alexandria, forcing it to be redirected to Cyprus, where the other 52 passengers were released.

Speaking to the Sun, Innes said: "I'm not sure why I did it, I just threw caution to the wind while trying to stay cheerful in the face of adversity. I figured if his bomb was real, I'd nothing to lose anyway, so took a chance to get a closer look at it."

Aside from his questionable understanding of what a selfie is – a photo taken by yourself, not your cabin crew – he's not the only one risking his life to get the ultimate photo. This week, Sara Albone, who is 28 and comes from Brighton, attempted to climb Britain's highest mountain, Ben Nevis, wearing summer clothes and equipped with just a selfie stick and a chocolate rabbit.

She became disorientated and began to develop hypothermia after being caught in blizzard conditions. She was found by chance, and was walked off the mountain when she was unreachable by helicopter.

People are literally dying for a good photo. Last September, the number of selfie-related deaths rose to 12 in 2015 when a Japanese man died after slipping down the stairs at the Taj Mahal. He had been taking a selfie at the mausoleum's Royal Gate.

The previous month, a 32-year-old man in Spain was gored to death by a bull when he stepped out to take a selfie at the annual bull-running festival in the town of Villaseca de la Sagra. He stood outside the protected zone, and was caught off-guard when a bull ran up behind him.

Russia had to launch a "Safe Selfie" campaign last year after about 100 people were injured in gruesome accidents while striking high-risk poses for their smartphones. "A cool selfie could cost you your life," the interior ministry warned in its campaign leaflet, which was packed with tips, such as "a selfie with a weapon kills".

A dramatic warning, but one that only came after two men accidentally blew themselves up in the Russian Ural mountains when posing with a live grenade. The selfie they took was discovered later on one of the men’s phones.

Pistol

A 21-year-old woman in Moscow accidentally shot herself in the head in May while taking a selfie while holding a pistol. She survived, though she suffered major head injuries.

A month later, a different 21-year-old college graduate posed hanging from a Moscow bridge, but plunged 40 feet to her death in the process.

In the US, bear selfies – selfies with bears in the background – have become an ongoing and increasing problem, with people ignoring the safe distance recommendations in favour of a great Instagram.

Last year, fewer people died from shark attacks than there were selfie-related deaths. While humour can be found in outrageous selfies, Yelena Alexeyeva, an aide to the Russian interior minister, summed up the risks: "Before taking a selfie, everyone should think about the fact that racing after a high number of 'likes' could lead someone on a journey to death and his last extreme photo could turn out to be posthumous."

While Ben Innes is now safe, along with his self-declared "best selfie ever", the wakeup call should be found in stories of teens accidentally blowing themselves up or falling from bridges, to leave behind only a tragic smartphone photo.