COLOMBO, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Two schoolboys were drowned in a river on Monday in the area called Puthukuduiruppu in northern Sri Lanka when they tried to take a selfie in the river, the local police said on Monday.

The police told Xinhua that seven schoolboys had reached the river for a picnic bath. Two of them, aged 17, got into the middle of the river to take a selfie.

The two boys were caught in the water current and got drowned, and their bodies had been recovered for the conduct of post mortem.

Chairman of the National Council for Road Safety Sisira Kodagoda said as many as 35 people have died in trying to get selfies while travelling in trains or standing on railway tracks.

"There are fatalities reported when making attempts for selfies in or near reservoirs and rivers. We have to educate people in this regard more and more," he said.