Railroad selfie leads to near-death electrocution for Lollapalooza attendees

A group of friends attending the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago, USA, had a shocking experience, literally, when they were electrocuted while attempting to take a selfie on a railway track in a prohibited area of the festival grounds. The incident left one of them paralysed after their heart temporarily stopped beating.

The incident was reported internationally after a video of the event was shared online. The clip showed the group of three friends sitting on the railway track for a selfie. One of the men, seated on the right, reached out and touched the railway track, which carries a 600-volt electric current.

The electrocution caused the Lollapalooza attendee to convulse and fall backwards. As he reached out to his female friend for help, the electric current passed through him and into her, causing both of them to collapse.

The third man in the group of Lollapalooza-goers looked at his electrocuted friends with a puzzled expression. He managed to pull the injured friends off the track. He almost received a shock from the tracks himself but was able to pull his hand away just in time.

A spokesperson for the local fire department after the electrocution incident stated that the three teenagers had travelled to Chicago to attend the Lollapalooza music festival. Other friends present at the scene managed to pull the stricken pair off the railway track.

One of the men had his heart stop beating and had to be resuscitated urgently on the spot before being rushed to the hospital. The woman, though conscious when the rescuers arrived, was also taken to the hospital for a thorough examination. The next day, the man’s condition remained critical while the woman showed significant improvement.

Lollapalooza, the site of the terrifying electrocution was founded in 1991 by Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell as a touring music festival. It later settled into an annual four-day concert event held in Chicago’s Grant Park every summer that draws approximately 400,000 music lovers each year.