A 17-year-old Russian schoolboy has died after falling nine floors from a rooftop as he tried to take a selfie for his Instagram page. The youth, Andrey R, had previously taken a number of similar pictures of him and his friends posing on high rooftops in the city of Vologda, 450km (280 miles) north of Moscow in the province of Vologda Oblast.

A photo posted by Drews??? (@drewsssik) on

Andrey had apparently planned to use a rope to take a picture that made it look like he was falling from the roof, but as he went over the edge the rope snapped and he fell nine storeys, falling in shrubbery which broke his fall. He was rushed to a local hospital but died two hours later despite frantic efforts to save him.

Friends of the youth - whose Instagram name was "drewsssik" - had warned him about taking risks when attempting to take selfies, including several where he dangled from buildings or stood on girders far above the street. The final Instagram picture shows the two piles of rope and harness he was apparently attempting to use when he fell to his death. The friend he was with when he fell has not been identified.

Recently there have been a number of warnings about the perils of attempting to take selfies in dangerous places or situations, following a number of fatalities. These include a man attempting to take a picture with a raging bull at a bull run in Spain, a Japanese tourist who fell down the steps at the Taj Mahal and three Indian students who were hit by a train.

In 2015, so far at least 12 people have died directly as a result of trying to capture the perfect selfie. In the same period the number killed by sharks was just eight. It isn't known whether any of the shark victims was trying to get a selfie.

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