Many experts believe that the selfie phenomenon might spell doom for many in the coming years, but the trend seems to be catching up sooner that we thought.

As many as 48 onlookers were injured, while standing too close to a bakery in Kodungaiyur that was engulfed in tall flames on Sunday.

Talking to eyewitnesses, India Today learned that despite announcements being made to the enclosing crowd- busy taking selfies at the site, that it was unsafe to be in such close vicinity, the onlookers did not budge.

The bakery caught fire in the wee hours of Sunday due to gas leak that filled the small shop within minutes due to lack of vents in the premises.

In no time, another fire blast or fireball rocked the bakery, killing a firefighter and injuring three more apart from the 48 people standing around the bakery.

Firefighter Egarajan was among those who went inside to douse the fire succumbed to his injuries on Sunday. Chief Minister E Palaniswami soon announced ex-gratia of Rs 13 lakh to his family.

"The number of injured is so high because they were not listening to us. Many were standing close to the shop and taking 'selfies' not realising the danger they were in, no matter how many times we attempted to clear the area", stated an officer.