A young backpacker is in intensive care with burns to the majority of his body after a freak accident while taking a photo.

Fergus Chetwin-Kelly, 20, is fighting for his life after he was tragically electrocuted at an abandoned train track in the 'world's most haunted forest' in north-west Romania.

The young man from Christchurch, New Zealand, had made a trip to Hoia-Baciu Forest, near Cluj-Napoca in Transylvania, 18 months into his travels across the globe, Sydney Morning Herald report.

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Fergus Chetwin-Kelly, 20, is fighting for his life after he was tragically electrocuted during his 18-month trip around the globe. He is pictured in Budapest, Hungary, in eastern Europe

He'd been electrocuted at Hoia-Baciu Forest, near Cluj-Napoca in Transylvania, north-west Romania, is known as the 'most haunted forest in the world'. It is thought of as a gateway to another dimension, similar to the Bermuda Triangle

He and some friends spotted some abandoned train carriages and climbed them for a photo.

When he raised his hand to wave at passengers in a passing train, he touched a live cable and was shocked by 27,000 volts.

‘He fell of and hit the ground and his whole body caught fire,’ his sister, Bridie, 23, told NZ Herald.

He is now in intensive care in an induced coma with first and second degree burns to 86 per cent of his body.

Though it is not known how long he was in cardiac arrest, he appears to have been given CPR immediately following the accident, Fairfax reported.

He'd also hit his head in the fall but is not fit for a CT scan, raising further questions for his future as the family awaits prognosis around his neurological state.

The family have launched a crowd-funding page, which has so far raised around $53,000. It raised $21,000 in just 24 hours

The incident occurred just over two weeks ago on September 30, and he has sustained burns to 86 per cent of his body and is in an induced coma. The family is awaiting further prognosis on his neurological condition

The incident occurred just over two weeks ago on September 30, but the family did not hear of the news until two days later.

Mr Chetwin-Kelly’s girlfriend in Dublin, Ireland, first heard of the news by reading an article which detailed his injuries, who then informed the family.

Roisin Rigg was concerned after she hadn’t heard from her boyfriend, and googled his name in the middle of the night to discover a Romanian article.

He’d been overseas for 18-months across Europe, the UK and Southeast Asia, with another six months to go until he would return to New Zealand.

His parents, Cecily Chetwin and Martin Kelly, hadn’t seen him since he’d left and flew over to Romania’s capital city, Bucharest, where he is in hospital once they’d heard of the news.

The father wrote on Facebook on Monday that the parents had been ‘visiting each day, telling him happy stories and giving lots of kisses’.

Though Mr Kelly said his son was still in a coma, he is stable and his skin is beginning to heal thanks to the ‘amazing’ medical staff who are ‘heroes’.

Bridie, and Mr Chetwin-Kelly’s other sister, Molly-Rose, 19, set up a crowd-funding page to help raise money for what the future might hold for him.

He and some friends spotted some abandoned train carriages and climbed them for a photo. When he raised his hand to wave at passengers in a passing train, he touched a live cable and was shocked by 27,000 volts

In just 24 hours, the page raised $21,000, and has now raised around $53,000.

‘It really goes to show how special Fergus is,’ Bridie wrote on Facebook.

‘There is no amount of words that can comprehend how proud I am to be Fergus Chetwin-Kelly’s sister,’ Molly-Rose wrote.

‘There are no words for how thankful I am for everything that everyone has done for myself and my family.’

With stories spanning centuries, the Hoia-Baciu Forest has long been feared as haunted.

That fear was publicised worldwide when Emil Barnea took photographs of light phenomena, which have since been described as UFOs.

Others call it a gateway into another dimension, the Bermuda Triangle of Romania.

Others have described seeing faces of ghosts.

You can donate to the family's Give A Little page here.