Visitors to Plitvice Lakes National Park should stop taking 'stupid and dangerous selfies', according to the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service. The warning comes after news that the park - one of Croatia's most popular tourist spots - may introduce a ban on certain types of footwear in the wake of a spree of accidents.
The Croatian Mountain Rescue Service tweeted: “Dear tourists, we respect you. It’s time for you to start respecting yourself. So, stop making stupid and dangerous selfies. Thank you."
Their concerns are warranted: the service is now called out around 1,200 times a year in Croatia - five times more than a decade ago. Plitvice Lakes in particular has seen a startling rise in accidents over recent years.
As is the global trend, an alarming number of the incidents are 'selfie'-related: the latest accident at Plitvice involved a Canadian tourist falling from a 70-metre rock - he'd climbed up to get a selfie, and ended up with a set of serious injuries instead. There have been fatalities too - a Slovakian tourist died while trying to take a photo at the lakes last year.
“We will most likely soon not allow people to enter the park in summer clothing such as flip flops or sandles,” Plitivice Lakes National Park spokesperson Ognjen Borčić told Jutarnji list, after admitting concern at this sharp rise in accidents.