From hijacking to funerals to Obama & world leaders: Selfies have a universal appeal

As British national's picture with EgyptAir hijacker catches everyone's eye, here's a look at a few other bizarre selfies

British national Ben Innes' selfie with the hijacker onboard an EgyptAir flight took the internet by storm on Tuesday. What Innes described as the "best selfie ever" divided social media opinion, with some calling it an act of stupidity, while others hailed it as bravery on his part.

Regardless, the selfie proves that people never lose a chance to click themselves at the most opportune moments. 

Innes, 26, was one of the last four passengers who were held hostage by hijacker Seif Eldin Mustafa at Larnaca airport in Cyprus. Justifying his move, he claimed that he wanted to take a closer look at the explosives belt to identify whether it was real.  

Read more from our special coverage on "EGYPTAIR"

• EgyptAir hijacker arrested; all hostages free

“I’m not sure why I did it, I just threw caution to the wind while trying to stay cheerful in the face of adversity. I figured if his bomb was real I’d nothing to lose anyway, so took a chance to get a closer look at it. I got one of the cabin crew to translate for me and asked him if I could do a selfie with him. He just shrugged OK, so I stood by him and smiled for the camera while a stewardess did the snap. It has to be the best selfie ever,” Innes was quoted as saying in media reports.

Luckily for Innes and the other hostages, the bomb was later deemed to be fake, but one wrong move on his part could have cost them all their lives if it had been real. 

While this can certainly qualify for one of the most bizarre selfies, social media has often shown us multiple examples of a 'selfie-crazy' population that makes one question their common sense and sensitivity. 

Here are a few examples:

Image tweeted by @iShewaani

A Sri Lankan man posted a selfie on his Facebook account, taken next to his dead uncle.

A man in India poses in front of his grandfather's funeral pyre

A man is seen posing for a selfie as he carries a dead body for its last rite ceremonies 

Photo: Twitter

A couple is seen posing in front of a hotel that caught fire, near the Burj Khalifa in Dubai during New Year's celebrations

Lastly, it is definitely not only the common man who has fallen victim to the selfie craze. The most powerful man on this planet also could not resist that one inapprociate selfie.

US President Barack Obama is seen clicking a selfie with Denmark's Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt and British Prime Minister David Cameron. Guess the occasion? A memorial service honouring Nelson Mandela