Italian teen taking selfie run over by train

Catanzaro (Italy) March 9 (IANS/AKI) A 13-year-old boy was killed by a local train in Italy s southern Calabria region as he tried to take a daredevil selfie standing on rail tracks reports said on Thursday.

The tragedy occurred in Soverato in the province of Catanzaro late on Wednesday when the train struck the boy as he stood with his back to the approaching locomotive and tried to snap it with his mobile phone.

Police later detained the boy s friends who had managed to jump clear of the train and were found wandering nearby in a state of shock.

Il Giornale di Calabria daily named the victim as Leandro Celia describing him as a bright well-adjusted teenager who was doing well at school.

Youngsters in several continents have been killed or injured taking daredevil selfies since the craze swept the planet.

--IANS/AKI
vd