Free-spirited Russian tourist Olga Perminova, 53, posed for a photo while hanging out of the passenger car of the “Podi Menike” train from the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo to the town of Badulla in the South Asian island nation’s interior last week, Metro UK reports.
The British media outlet’s article includes a pic of Perminova smiling and enjoying the breeze in the middle of the 10-hour ride on the world-famous route, which offers breathtaking views of lush green hills and valleys. Moments later, Perminova grabbed the phone to take a selfie but that pic is not in the article. It’s actually not clear from the text whether she got to take that particular photo.
See the railway was built in the 1800s, during the British colonial era, and the geography means that it’s a pretty tight squeeze. It’s not like most passenger trains you ride in the United States these days where there’s typically a lot of room between the tracks and their surroundings, sooo…
So, yeah Perminova’s selfie attempt kind of didn’t work out for her. Local news site Adaderana.lk has a pic of the aftermath, with Perminova being taken on a stretcher from a nearby station. They blurred out her body. One guy’s covering his mouth as if either nauseous or simply aghast, like “What the fuck?” Metro UK reports the Russian government are working on repatriating her remains.