Bali tourists risking their lives for selfies

Instagrammers think it is going to be the location of the perfect post but instead it ends up the scene of their watery grave. These are the most dangerous selfie spots in Bali.

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They think it is going to be the location of the perfect selfie but instead it ends up the scene of their watery grave.

Instagrammers chasing the perfect selfie are instead losing their lives with Bali’s ominously named Devil’s Tear a hot spot for sucking selfie-fiends to their death.

Devil's Tears Bay, Nusa Lembongan @roman.startling "If the sea splashes in your soul, then waves of inspiration will certainly go, splashing beautiful thoughts onto the shore of life. Rick Rubin" Picture: Supplied

Devil's Tears Bay, Nusa Lembongan @iamjasonshaw No matter where I end up, I will always drift towards the sea. Picture: Supplied

The idyllic remote Balinese islands of Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida are ground zero for selfie horror stories.

In January, a 22-year-old Chinese bride was swept off the rocks by a sudden wall of water at Devil’s Tear cliff in Nusa Lembongan while divers have drowned in the ‘washing machine’ conditions of Nusa Penida’s Crystal Bay where the famous giant whale sharks are a popular attraction.

In the past year, a dozen people have succumbed to the death traps at Devil’s Tear and Crystal Bay.

Devil’s Tears claimed six people and scores of others were swept off the cliff but survived.

In just one month, five tourists drowned at Devil’s Tears, where two Chinese tourists were washed off the cliff in September while a South African and two Brazilians died when their boat was flipped by giant waves at the notorious location.

The sheer volume of deaths and near death experiences prompted police to build a two metre high guard rail that is 300 metres long, however, determined Instagrammers take their lives into their hands and bypass the fence.

A Bali diving tour that was exploring the waters of Crystal Bay came upon the suspected body of a Tourist from Italy.

Head of the Klungkung Tourism Office, Nengah Kasta visitors jump across the fence or move to the cliff side to secure the shot.

“This year, we have made Devil’s Tear a priority. In the future, all the visitors that come to Devil’s Tear will enter through one gate and we will provide the spot to take the selfie,” he said.

Ubud’s famous Tegalalang selfie swing. Picture: Supplied

The swing has previously claimed the life of a Frenchman who fell 15m. Picture: Supplied

Aussie dive instructor Jake Davison risked his own life to rescue two Chinese tourists who were dragged by a powerful wave into the churning waters.

The Aussie hero managed to drag the man to safety across razor sharp rocks that were being hammered by waves was captured on a dramatic video in 2019.

Jake managed to save one man, but the other later died in hospital.

Last year, Indian tourist Kaushal Aditya was pushed off the Devil’s Tear cliff and into the cove, and despite a seven day search, his body was never found.

The Pecatu cliff. Picture @anggasant T

Karang Boma Cliff. Picture: @halimdasam

It is not just Devil’s Tear that is claiming lives in Indonesia.

last week at the island of Nusa Penida, off Denpasar, the body of an Italian tourist, still clutching a Gro Pro was found by a dive tour operator. The tour guide alerted police and waited with the body but having grown tired of waiting he reportedly released the corpse into the ocean and continued on his journey.

Ubud’s famous Tegalalang selfie swing – that pitches over a jungle ravine – claimed the life of a Frenchman who fell 15 metres into a ravine when he pushed the swing and it dragged him forward and off the cliff.

And late last year a holiday maker from Belarus fell from the Pecatu cliff near Padang Padang while taking a selfie with his back to the beach and slipped and fell. His body has never been found.