Tourist leaning out of train for selfie on famous track dies after hitting rock

A tourist has been killed after leaning out of a train to take a selfie on a famous railway line and hitting a rock. Grandmother Olga Perminova, 53, was travelling on Sri Lanka’s iconic Podi Menike line when the horror accident occurred. She suffered horrific injuries after smashing her head and falling off the train, reports claim.

Photos taken moments before the tragic accident show Olga posing in a pink dress. There have been dozens upon dozens of stories about tourists dying in horrific circumstances in a similar pursuit of the perfect picture. Last August, a couple plunged 80ft to their death while posing for a photo near a waterfall in Bali, Indonesia.

Weeks before that, a woman was hit by the new Canadian Pacific 2816 Empress steam locomotive while posing too close to the tracks as it passed through Hidalgo in Mexico. And here in the UK, two university students were found dead at the foot of a waterfall in Scotland in April last year after reportedly attempting to take a selfie at the top.

The Podi Menike is a Sri Lankan passenger train journey running from Colombo Fort to Badulla. Spanning nearly 190 miles, it takes around 10 hours to complete. It is famed for its spectacular scenery as it passes lush tea plantations, dense forests, mountainous terrains, and picturesque landscapes.

The stretch from Nanuoya to Ella is a favourite among tourists. Local reports, citing the police, said Olga died ‘after falling off the train when attempting to take a selfie while hanging from the train footboard between the Badulla and Hali Ela railway stations’.

‘The woman knocked against a rock, fell off the train and sustained severe injuries,’ they added. The train was heading for Ella, home to the famous Nine Arches Bridge on a line that has been called one of the world’s greatest rail experiences. Olga was given emergency treatment but died from her head injuries.

She was part of a Russian tour group travelling the south Asian island nation. The grandmother worked for a security company in Moscow region and was originally from Saratov. Russian diplomats are handling the arrangements for repatriating her body following the selfie tragedy.

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