As rescue services tended to the woman who laid helpless and severely injured on the tracks at Piacenza station in Northern Italy, a man appeared to be making a "V for victory" sign with one hand while taking the shot with the other.

The photo of the selfie-taker was captured by a news photographer who complained that "we have completely lost a sense of ethics".

The young Canadian woman, who was caught up in the accident late last month, was taken to hospital where she had her leg amputated.

The BBC reported that local police caught up with the man who took the selfie and forced him to delete the photo.

He was investigated but didn’t appear to have committed a crime.

The image of the man has also made the rounds on social media, leaving people in disbelief.

Galloping towards extinction - Nicola Savino

Antonella Boralevi, a commentator for Italian daily newspaper, La Stampa, spoke of a "cancer that corrodes the internet".

Mr Boralevi argued that the man who took the selfie was not bad, but instead he had turned off his soul and his personality and became an "automaton of the internet".

Radio host Nicola Savino told listeners that the human race was "galloping towards extinction". One user on Twitter said simply: "Nothing surprises me anymore."

Giorgio Lambri, the journalist who photographed the scene on May 26, wrote about his experience for the Piacenza newspaper Liberta under the headline: "The barbarism you don't expect: the 'selfie' in front of a tragedy."

Mr Lambri also posted his story on Facebook with an alternative headline, suggesting “Houston, we've got a problem", because of the man's apparent lack of moral compass.