Second tourist dies taking selfie at waterfall in Thailand

He ignored the signs and attempted the selfie anyway. Photo / Wikicommons

For the second time this year, a tourist has died taking a selfie at a Thai waterfall.

French tourist Bastien Palmier, 33, died yesterday while attempting to take a selfie, in the same spot where a Spanish tourist, David Rocamundi Conesa, died in July.

The tourists were attempting selfies near the 79-metre Na Mueang 2 waterfall, on Ko Samui, Thailand's second largest island.

According to local authorities, the area has "no entry" signs but the tourists defied the warnings.

"Some tourists may want to get better photos, but it's quite steep and slippery there and he slipped," local tourist police officer Poowadol Wiriyanarangkul told news agency DPA

Palmier was in Thailand visiting his friend Thomas Mechin, who'd recently moved to the country.

His friend told authorities he warned Palmier about the dangers but the tourist decided to jump the rope anyway to try to get his selfie.

Police and rescue workers retrieved Palmier's body from the water.

According to the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, there were 259 deaths while taking selfies between October 2011 to November 2017.