Rawalpindi man hit by train while ‘filming TikTok’

A man died after he was run over by a train while filming a video for TikTok in Rawalpindi’s Chaklala, the police said on Saturday.

Hamza was recording a video for the social media application on the railway tracks when a train hit him. The incident took place on Friday, January 22.

According to the police, the victim sustained an injury to his head which he couldn’t recover from and later passed away.

His friend told the police that Hamza had made a TikTok account last year and loved uploading videos on it. He was immediately rushed to a hospital after the incident.

The body has been sent back home after a post-mortem examination. The victim will be buried in Rawalakot.

Pakistan blocked the video sharing app on October 9 for its “obscene and immoral” content. The ban was reversed after 10 days.

The PTA spokesperson said the TikTok management has assured the authority that it will block all accounts repeatedly involved in spreading obscenity and immorality and moderate content in accordance with local laws.

The authority had said at the time of the ban that the decision was made after it received complaints ‘against immoral/indecent content’ on the app. “In view of the presence of vulgar, indecent/immoral content on the platform and its negative effects on the society, the PTA has been continuously asserting TikTok to prevent its platform from disseminating the unlawful content,” it said, adding that the app didn’t take concrete steps for blocking and removal of unlawful content.