Facebook almost drowned a tourist in Australia this week when the woman walked right off the edge of a pier in Melbourne because she was too busy checking her Newsfeed to watch where she was going.
The woman, who is reportedly from Taiwan, was strolling down the St. Kilda pier Monday night around 11 p.m. and checking her Facebook page on her cell phone. Suddenly, she plunged into the Port Phillip Bay.
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After about 20 minutes of flailing around in the water, a witness heard the woman's cries and called police.
"She was still out in the water lying on her back in a floating position because she told us later that she couldn't swim,"
senior constable Dean Kelly of the state water police told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. "She still had her mobile phone in her hand and initially she apologized and said 'I was checking my Facebook page on the phone and I've fallen in.'"
The woman had drifted some 65 feet from the base of the pier and had to be rescued by police speedboat, ABC reported.
She was taken to a local hospital to be checked out, but no injuries were immediately reported.
Australian officials are now warning people to be especially careful of walking while Facebooking or texting.
"With Facebook, or social media in general as far as we're concerned, if you're anywhere near the water just pay attention, especially if you can't swim," Kelly said.
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