Many people died in front of our eyes. If authorities had reached [them] on time then they would have been alive.

Kids love taking selfies and it isn’t just American kids. The selfie craze goes on in every corner of the world and sadly, some of the shots turn out to be the last pictures ever taken of the distracted youths. In many cases, it’s the selfie they were aiming for, sometimes in dangerous places or unideal conditions, that puts them in danger.

On Sunday, a single bolt of lightning killed 18 people in India, when a watchtower was struck where tourists were taking selfies during a wild storm.

New York Post reports that 27 people were at the top of the Amer Fort, a popular tourist attraction in Jaipur, India, when the deadly strike occurred. Some of the victims hit the ground as the lightning struck. Law enforcement officials said that most of the victims were young people.

From the New York Post,

“Many people died in front of our eyes. If people had gotten help and authorities had reached on time then [they would have been alive],” an eyewitness told ANI. “We brought many people down. We rescued the people who were still alive, those who were still breathing and pulled some people out of the gorge.”

Dozens more were killed as a result of a storm system that tore through northern India. Nine more deaths occurred in Rajasthan state, where Jaipur is located. At least another 41 people died in the state of Uttar Pradesh, plus seven others in Madhya Pradesh.

Jaipur (India)…14 died near Amer Fort pic.twitter.com/JKF1LYO4vQ

— Stan (@ShivKumrBatalvi) July 12, 2021

Video captured by Reuter’s TV partner ANI showed empty shoes left behind by some of the victims.

Reportedly, at least 2000 people are killed annually in India due to lightning strikes. Mostly in rural areas where people work outside and in agricultural regions. Lightning storms are most common between June and September during India’s monsoon season.