Igor de Oliveira Rodrigues Dias, 33, died trying to take a selfie (Picture: Newsflash)

A man has died after losing his balance and plunging almost 40 feet while taking a selfie in Brazil.

Igor de Oliveira Rodrigues Dias, 33, hit his head when he fell from a rock overlooking Joatinga Beach in Rio de Janeiro on November 10.

Emergency services rushed to help him but could not save his life.

His mother, Luiza Rodrigues described her heartbreak at losing her only child.

‘In the morning he had signed a contract with a company he wanted to work for so he went out with a friend to have a little celebration on the beach.

‘I talked to him, asked where he was. He replied that he was on the beach. But I don’t know why he decided to climb that high rock.

‘He had his whole life ahead of him,’ she added.

His father, Jonas Dias, said: ‘He died before me, and I don’t accept that.

The 33-year-old ‘had his whole life ahead of him’, his mother said (Picture: Newsflash)

‘I think that every son has to bury his father, and not the father bury his son. It was a tragedy.’

His body was airlifted from the scene and his funeral took place in the Caju neighbourhood on Saturday.

Rio de Janeiro Fire Department spokesman Fabio Contreiras warned: ‘We always have to be safe, never get close to the edge of the rocks, ask someone to take a picture, if necessary.

‘Always seek safety first. Don’t risk your life for likes.’

One person died every 13 days in an accident while trying to capture a landscape between January 2008 and July 2021, according to a Spanish study.

Brazil registered the fifth-highest number of incidents.

In 2015, figures revealed more people had died from selfies than shark attacks.

Ill-fated phone users tumbled down the steps of the Taj Mahal, fell off bridges and have been electrocuted while trying to capture the perfect photograph.  

One teenager burst into flames after accidentally touching an electrical field while trying to take the ‘ultimate selfie’ on top of a train.

‘Always seek safety first. Don’t risk your life for likes,’ a fire department spokesman said.