Friends drown after falling into sea while taking selfie

Two men have died after one of them fell into the sea while taking a selfie and his friend jumped in to save him.

Carlos Jair Balanta, 22, and 19-year-old Kevin Andres Gil Campo drowned at the seaside town of Arica, in Chile.

According to Maritimeherald.com, they were trying to take some memorable pictures near the water but tragedy struck when one of them slipped while taking a picture and his friend tried to get him out.

The friends were said to have been travelling from the Colombian city of Cali to the Chilean capital of Santiago to start a new life.

Kevin Andres Gil Campo

A relative of Campo said: “They, without knowing about this, got too close to the edge, they were taking a selfie, they slipped and a wave, the waves were very strong that day, they dragged them and took them to the sea.”

Campo’s aunt, Araceli Restrepo, added: “They were travelling to find their fortune, as is the dream of anyone who travels to another country, to look for decent work. They were young, studying, they had finished their college and were studying something more technical.”

Carlos Jair Balanta

The men’s bodies were apparently found four days later after an intense search by the coast guards. Mr Campo’s body will be repatriated to Columbia, while Balanta’s remains will stay in Chile as his mother lives in the country.