A tourist is in a critical condition after leaning out of a moving train to pose for pictures in Sri Lanka, the latest casualty of a dangerous social media trend.
The tourist, a 35-year-old woman from China, hit her head on a tunnel wall and fell off the train, suffering severe injuries to her head and legs.
The incident happened on Sunday when the unidentified woman was traveling from Nanuoya to Badulla, the capital of Uva Province in the central hills of the country.
She was rushed to Haputale Regional Hospital before being transferred to two other hospitals for treatment and special care, South China Morning Post reported.
Grim pictures showing the woman being rushed away on a stretcher were shared on the Chinese social media site Weibo.
The Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka urged tourists to “stay away from train doors and do not lean out of trains for photos” in a statement posted on its website on Monday.
Other tourists have been seriously injured or even killed leaning precariously out of moving trains in Sri Lanka trying to get the perfect picture for social media.
In February, a 53-year-old Russian woman was reportedly killed after falling from a moving train while leaning out and posing for a photo.
In December, another female Chinese tourist was reportedly knocked out of a moving train after hanging her upper body out and hitting a tree but suffered only minor injuries.
