Story By:  Gheorghi Caraseni, Sub Editor:  Joseph Golder,  Agency: Central European News

A pretty Russian photographer who liked sharing glamorous snaps of herself as she travelled the world has fallen to her death while having her picture taken on top of a cliff.

Julia Khabibulina, who came from the city of Ufa in the western Russian republic of Bashkortostan, moved to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates in October 2019 in the hope of developing her photography career.

But the young woman reportedly died in an accident while taking shots at a cliff on 15 May.

According to local media, she fell 10 metres (33 feet) to her death from a steep incline.

Friends battled to save the photographer’s life for nearly an hour while the ambulance arrived, however to no avail.

Prior to her death, Khabibulina shared her thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic in a series of thought-provoking posts.

She wrote: “It seems that the virus has already infected my brain and is deeply embedded in my subconscious… Today I dreamt that I was suffocating. I tried to call for a doctor but I couldn’t say anything because there was not enough air.

“It became very scary, I woke up and felt my heart beating wildly.”

Shortly afterwards, the photographer posted: “It seems that quarantine is the best thing to happen to me for a long time. Maybe we have all gone astray and forgotten what gratitude is, forgotten about God?

“We take every breath for granted, but this is a great happiness. Happiness is just being in this world, just to be able to breathe.”

In her last post, Khabibulina said: “People have been partying in hotels during the whole quarantine period. This is Dubai. Music has to be playing, even if you die.”

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.