We all know that we’re mortal, but that is a fact we usually choose to shrug off. The thing is, we never know when our last day will come. All we know is that life is short and uncertain. Tomorrow is never promised. Tragedies can happen anytime or anywhere, but some deaths are much worse than others. Perhaps the strangest modern phenomenon related to death is the fact that a person’s last moments will often be filmed or photographed.
The pictures you’re about to see display the last few hours, and in some cases the last seconds, before the subject died. Some wear smiles on their faces and look normal at first glance, others are doing the same old activities without knowing what lies ahead. A few, however, seem to know what fate has in store for them. The stories behind each image are certainly heart-breaking, especially for their loved ones.
That one encounter with a tiger
Tigers are amazing to see in zoos, but only from a distance. A man named Maqsood Khan from New Delhi came face-to-face with a tiger by jumping in its den. Onlookers tried to scare it off by throwing stones, but they didn’t have the desired effect.
Unfortunately, the stones enraged the tiger more. The man, who was reportedly mentally ill, managed to stay calm as the tiger assessed him for about 15 minutes. Not long after the picture above was taken, the tiger attacked and killed Khan.
Left Eye’s last sight
Lisa Lopes, also known as “Left Eye”, was a member of the girl group TLC. Lisa swerved to avoid a truck and then again to avoid an oncoming vehicle. Unfortunately, she lost control of her car and it rolled several times. In a disturbing twist, she was recording one of her video diaries at the moment the accident occurred.
There were three people in the car. The other two both survived, but Lisa died. The tragic accident occurred during the peak of her career. The R&B rapper and singer had, at that time, earned four Grammy awards.
The space shuttle disaster
The Challenger space shuttle incident happened on January 28, 1986. The astronauts in the image below had no idea what was about to happen to them just 73 seconds after take-off. Traveling to space is an enviable adventure until your aircraft collapses.
All seven astronauts aboard the shuttle died after its fuel tank malformed and external forces tore the aircraft apart. The bereaved families sued the United States space program after the tragedy.
Killer selfie
Backgrounds can make or break a selfie. Getting the perfect selfie sometimes requires extra effort and a willingness to do something different. That’s what Xenia Ignatyeva – the 17-year old girl in the picture below – tried to do as she climbed a 30-foot railway bridge.
She fell from the height, but it was something else that ended her life. Xenia tried to hold onto anything to save herself but sadly got hold of electrical wires. In the end, it was not worth it as the selfie cost her life.
Lightning-struck brothers
Having your hair stand on end makes for a hilarious picture. This is what two brothers Sean and Michael did on a camping trip at Sequoia National park. Little did they know that it was electrons from lighting attracting their hair into the air.
The two brothers were struck by lightning a few moments after the above picture was taken. Luckily, they both survived. Had the two brothers not gone to the park that night, they would have not encountered such a life-threatening situation. However, the real lesson here is that if your hair stands on end for no apparent reason, you should probably take cover.
Freefall to death
People love doing things that give them an adrenaline rush. Doing crazy stuff is what makes life more exciting. Pavel Kashin used to get his kicks by performing dangerous stunts. Among the thousands of successful stunts he did in the past, his last one flopped.
He attempted a backflip on a 16-story building. He was successful in landing the flip at first. However, he then lost his balance and fell off the building. Pavel’s death serves as a lesson for many people seeking social media fame by performing dangerous tricks.
Walker’s ride to his final destination
The Fast and the Furious star, Paul Walker, was adored by almost the entire world. He was known for his car racing skills in the movie, but who would have thought that a car accident would lead to his sudden death?
Walker, who played the role of Brian O’Conner in the films, was riding his Porsche Carrera GT when it crashed. Roger Rodas, his chauffeur, was driving when the devastating accident occurred. It sadly happened on a little break Walker had taken from the filming of F&F 7.
A charitable event gone wrong
Raising money for homeless people is surely a noble deed. However, doing so in a crazy, daredevil way could be devastating in the end. Robert Overacker was jet-skiing over Niagara Falls for a charitable cause, but the stunt cost him his life.
Overacker did his stunt at the falls on purpose so he could attract public attention and raise more funds. Unfortunately, he plummeted to his death when his parachute malfunctioned. The image above captures the moment he realized his chute wasn’t working.
Biggie Smalls’ shortened life
Christopher Wallace, also known by his stage names Biggie Smalls and The Notorious B.I.G, was considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. This was him before he was shot to death at a stoplight in Los Angeles in 1997.
Even after having hired a security guard, he was still assassinated. To make things worse, his killer remains on the loose and unidentified until today. It was said to be related to the ongoing dispute between rappers from the East and West coasts.
Train track tragedy
Trains are supposed to bring people home, but, unfortunate events do sometimes happen in crowded train stations. A man named Ki-Suk Han is just one of those poor people who suffered by getting pushed in front of an oncoming train in New York City.
The picture above shows the man a few seconds before the train knocks him over. Sadly, he was not able to get off the railway tracks and save his life. The man eventually died from his injuries.
Even heroes fall
A nurse named Mayinga N'Seka worked to save her patients from the contagious Ebola virus during its height in the 1970s. It meant risking her life, but she decided to shrug the fear off and fulfill her mission.
The picture above shows the nurse on duty a few days before she acquired the Ebola virus. She helped as many patients as she could, but even she was not able to protect herself from the severely infectious disease.
Crashed to the ground
Movies and television shows often display airplane flights, but how does it look before a plane crashes in real life? Passengers of Flight 182 in September 1978 had no idea of the tragedy awaiting them as they boarded the ill-fated plane.
The aircraft was photographed a few moments before it crashed to the ground. In total, 144 people died from Flight 182, including 137 passengers. This was after it collided with a private Cessna 172 light aircraft over San Diego, California.
Real-time TV suicide
Budd Dwyer, treasurer of Pennsylvania, took his own life on live national television in 1987. It looked like a normal day for the audience to see Dwyer live since he had been on TV several times. To their surprise, it was anything but normal.
The politician’s televised suicide was a shock for viewers. He was said to have been convicted of bribery and sentenced to 55 years in prison. Instead of accepting this sentence, he took out a revolver from an envelope and shot himself in the public eye.
Wallenda’s final show
Acrobats create an exciting spectacle, especially when they do their tricks without precautionary measures. Dangerous acts attract more public attention and make people pay attention. However, Karl Wallenda’s unsafe, crazy stunt ended his career at age 73.
The performer fell from 121 feet above the ground. He lost his balance while doing tricks on a tightrope. Fans commented that he may not have had much time left in the entertainment world anyway, and at least he died doing what he loved.
Came across a bear
When a person encounters a bear, the first thing they should do is get out of the scene as quickly as possible. However, this man right here came face-to-face with a brown bear and took pictures of it instead.
The man’s body and phone were eventually recovered. As expected, it shows how the man was not able to survive the wrath of the bear. The bear was already close when he dropped his phone and ran, but it was too late to escape.
Princess Diana’s final shot
Prince Harry says that there were probably other pictures taken of Princess Diana’s final moments before the car crash, but the photo below is the last that was released. The Princess of Wales passed away at age 36 In 1997.
The royal died with her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, and the car’s driver, Henri Paul. Rees-Jones, Diana’s bodyguard, was seriously injured but was the only survivor of the accident. Princess Diana’s death shocked the world and left many people grieving.
A better photo angle
The girl in red whom you can see in the picture below was a 20-year old student from Canada. Like many other tourists, she wants to take a better picture at Niagara Falls. She did so by climbing over the rails, but what happened next ended her life.
The couple in the picture wanted to capture their moment at the falls, but instead captured the young girl’s final moment. As she was about to come back from the rails, she lost her balance and fell into the water.
The ‘cursed’ car
Famous actor James Dean was photographed moments before he jumped into his Porsche. Little did the photographer know that it would be Dean’s last ride. The actor died soon after in a car accident. The car has since been labeled as ‘cursed’ as several other accidents have been attributed to it.
The couple in the picture wanted to capture their moment at the falls, but instead captured the young girl’s final moment. As she was about to come back from the rails, she lost her balance and fell into the water.
Edge of death
Life is about taking risks, and volcanologist David Johnson lived this way. On his mission to study Mount St. Helens, he resided on the edge of danger. However, the volcano erupted in 1980 and took his life.
Ironically, the volcanologist was the first to warn residents about the possible eruption. He wanted them to evacuate immediately. He was one of the 57 fatalities who remained in the danger zone during the eruption. He was six miles away from the volcano.
Mystery jungle
Young Dutch women Lisanne Front and Kris Kremers went missing soon after they took the image pictured below. They were supposed to be going on a guided tour in one of the jungles of Panama but decided to visit the place alone together.
Unfortunately, only their bones were recovered from the forest. It turns out that they were trying to call emergency services but failed to reach help. Their mobile phones were recovered, but the cause of their death remains a mystery.
Betrayed trust
The photo below shows two girlfriends who seem genuinely close to each other. You would never be able to tell that something was wrong from this picture. However, the girl on the left, Cheyenne Antoine, allegedly strangled her friend with her belt.
The murder apparently happened due to excessive alcohol intake. When questioned during the investigation, Cheyenne said that she could not recall killing her friend. She was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison.
Windmill on fire
Windmill maintenance is normal for an engineer. Two engineers went to conduct some maintenance on this windmill without knowing what lay in store for them. The windmill caught fire as the turbine got stuck. Sadly, neither worker was able to escape.
They were trapped inside as the only exit from the windmill caught fire too. One of them, banking on the slim chance of survival, decided to jump off the windmill. He died from the impact of his fall while the other was burned alive. What a choice to make.
A match made on Tinder
Tinder is a popular dating app used by people of all ages. The girl below, Sydney Loofe, took a selfie and posted it just before she met her date in person. Meet-ups are common among Tinder users nowadays, but as Sydney’s story demonstrates, caution should be exercised.
This was her last online post as her date took her life through suffocation. The story gets kind of complicated, but the gist of it is, Sydney had met a girl going by the name Audrey. Audrey was actually Bailey Boswell and she had a boyfriend, Aubrey Trail. Boswell and Trail were both charged with Sydney’s murder.
The last moments of the Humboldt Broncos
Trips with teammates are supposed to be an enjoyable experience. Unfortunately for this Humboldt team, their trip was anything but fun. A truck failed to stop at a stop sign and struck their bus while they were on their way to Saskatchewan for a game.
Accidents like this are beyond tragic. The team was filled with excitement about their game. Sadly, the truck hit the bus at high speed, injuring 13 and killing 16. The accident happened in 2018, and the driver of the truck faced criminal charges over the deaths and injuries.
Flight debacle
Below, you can see a picture taken in 1972 of passengers aboard Uruguayan Flight 571. Soon after the picture was taken, the plane crashed in the Andes. The crash killed 12 people right away, while 33 passengers survived but were severely injured.
The survivors had to get by in the mountains as it took rescuers 72 days to find them. Perhaps the most tragic aspect of the awful scenario is that only 16 of the survivors were rescued. All the excitement and anticipation you see in that picture was the prelude to a tragic disaster.
The vanishing in Yosemite
Hiking is fun and fulfilling, but it’s important to remember that hikers go missing every year. This is why it’s so important to take precautions when you head out into the wilderness. The photo below shows the feet of a hiker while he sat atop the ledge of Yosemite mountain. For a long time, people were left wondering where he disappeared to after that shot.
A month passed before a man’s body was recovered under the cliff. It turned out to be the hiker who was suspected to have fallen while taking this picture. His phone was found atop the cliff, but his body was already lifeless far below.
Harvested lives
Thousands of music festivals are held all over the world. People are meant to enjoy themselves and celebrate great music and strong friendships. However, a man shot down 50 people and injured 400 others during the Route 91 Harvest music festival in 2017. The tragedy at the festival became international news.
The woman in the picture above is Denise Burditus, capturing a special moment with her husband. This is their last picture together before the incident. She was among the fatalities, while her husband survived the killing.
Missile-plane collision
Below is the last picture of mother and son Gary and Petra Slock. They took their final picture together as they were sitting aboard an aircraft all set to head off on their vacation. They were not able to do so as the plane collided with a missile and crashed.
The plane was supposed to travel to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. However, the collision caused the airplane to malfunction. All 300 passengers died, including the mother and son. Their supposedly happy vacation ended in disaster.
Death at the club
Pyrotechnics are usually impressive, but when they set a club on fire, the results are devastating. The band Great White was performing on stage when their pyrotechnics started a fire that took the lives of about 100 people inside.
What worsened the situation was the flammable soundproofing material of the club. It allowed the fire to spread ferociously. In the background of the picture above, you can see the band’s guitarists noticing that the pyrotechnics were starting to flare abnormally.
A failed test-run
Today’s airplanes would not be as effective if it weren’t for the thousands of tests done in the past. The picture below shows the last moments in the lives of these men. They’re waiting for the aircraft they’re in to take off. The test was done sometime in the 1940s, and it was meant to demonstrate how the aircraft worked.
Unfortunately, the demonstration flopped. Just as the aircraft took off, its right-wing broke apart. This led to the tragic plane crash that killed everyone aboard. Politician William Becker, then-Mayor of St. Louis, Missouri, was one of the men who died in the tragedy.
The Bombing of Omagh, Ireland
One of the most unexpected and unfortunate events that could happen to anybody is being in the wrong place and time for a bombing. The picture below was taken just moments before a bomb went off in Omagh. About 200 people were wounded in the blast.
This family unknowingly posed for a picture right next to the bomb, which was in the car. The two posing for the photo managed to survive. However, the person who took the picture died.
Ash storm
Nature is unpredictable. A volcano can be a perfect tourist spot one second, then erupt the next. Below is a shot from photographer Robert Landsberg during the eruption of Mount St. Helen.
During a volcanic eruption, the last thing most people would do is take pictures. However, Landsberg had no hope of escape, so he continued photographing the volcano until he died.
Mother-daughter death
Below is an adorable picture of a mother and daughter before their plane took off. Nobody knew that this was going to be their last snap together as Russian forces shot a missile at their aircraft. None of the passengers made it.
This photo of Dave Halley’s wife and daughter was one of the only remnants of the plane crash. Nobody saw that missile coming as their plane flew over Ukraine. Plane crashes are rare, but seeing people suffer from this rare occurrence is heartbreaking.
Tried to help
Below is a snapshot of the last moments of a teacher named William Sanders. The photo shows how he tries to help his students escape the Columbine High School shooting executed by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.
The young men were students of the school. They shot 13 people that day. Right after the shooting incident, they killed themselves. Unfortunately, such events can happen anywhere, even in places intended for learning.
The Bataclan Theater bloodbath
Paris experienced a series of terrorist attacks in 2015. The picture below shows two people on a date, moments before the shooting. The Eagles of Death Metal band was performing when around 100 people were killed by the terrorists.
Around 90 percent of the terrorism-related deaths were attributed to the theater. Marianne Lebanane, the woman in the picture, survived because Gilles Leclerc, the man beside her, threw her to the ground as the shooting started.
Unguaranteed survival
The picture below shows Joseph Avery waiting on a log for rescue. He was sailing across the Niagara River with two other men when strong currents destroyed their boat. The water washed the other men out, but Avery managed to survive.
He waited for 18 hours on that log, which was perched precariously close to the edge of Niagara Falls. Rescue attempts were made, but eventually, Avery fell into the water and was swept over the falls to his death.
Country king
Johnny Cash is one of history’s biggest musical icons. He was known for introducing country music to the world. In 2013, he died soon after his wife. Here, you can see one of the last photos taken of him alive.
Johnny did not live long after this picture of him was taken. Until today, he is remembered for his efforts to change the way people view music and art.
Tragedy in paradise
Below is Jamie Zimmerman’s last selfie while on a vacation in Hawaii. As you can see from the photo, the place is truly a wonderful tourist spot. However, care must be taken in places like this.
Jamie sat on a ledge after arriving from a long walk. She posed for some selfies on the edge of the cliffs, but as she tried to get off the ledge, she slipped and fell to her death.
Robin Williams’ last candid photo
The man in glasses here is Robin Williams. He was one of the most respected actors in the entertainment industry. Celebrity deaths are often sudden, and Robin’s case is one of them.
The world was shocked and saddened by his loss. He was known to be a kind and caring man. However, we never truly know when someone is ready to end their life. This photo was taken days before his death.