Jakarta –
TikTok has been home to unique trends and challenges since its launch. While many are fun and entertaining, some trends actually take the lives of their users.
After last year’s horrendous blackout challenge, now comes the boat jumping challenge. This challenge invites TikTok users to jump somersaults from behind a moving boat.
According to reports, this new challenge has claimed four lives in Alabama. In addition there were four other victims with broken necks.
“We have had four drownings in the span of more than six months,” said Capt. Jim Dennis of the Childersburg Rescue Squad.
“I think the people involved in the accident most likely did something stupid because they wanted to flaunt it on their social media to gain influence and their friends,” he added.
Captain Dennis said one of the incidents occurred in February 2023. The victim who died was a middle-aged man who was doing the ‘jump from the boat’ challenge and was filmed by his wife. The man died instantly after taking on the challenge due to a broken neck.
According to station WPDE-TV, the most recent incident in Alabama involved a middle-aged man and occurred in May. Another video is shown in North Carolina, at Lake Norman, where five people are seen doing the same challenge.
Speaking to Today , Gail Kulp, executive director of the Sea Tow Foundation, stressed that people are putting their physical health and life at risk when performing the boat jumping challenge on TikTok.
“You could end up with a broken bone, a broken neck, or you could hit the propeller of your own boat or another boat could hit you and that would cause a lot of damage if not death,” he said.
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(afr/afr)
2023-07-11 02:15:46
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