Six people including three children die when their throats are slit by kite strings at festival in India
18 January 2023, 09:33 | Updated: 18 January 2023, 14:32
Six people, including three children have died at a festival in India after their throats were sliced open by kite strings.
176 people were injured due to cuts and falls while flying kites during the Uttarayan festival in Gujarat, police said on Monday.
Hundreds of people had been taking part in the kite flying festival over the weekend, flying them from terraces and rooftops.
Police said that the six victims, including two girls, both two and a seven year old boy, died when kites ‘with sharp strings’ were entangled round victims’ necks, slitting their throats.
One girl, Kirti, two, died in hospital on Sunday after she was injured while flying a kite while riding with her father on a bike in Bhavnagar city.
A three year old girl died in another town on Saturday when a thread from a kite slit her throat while she was walking home with her mother.
A seven-year-old was riding with his parents on a two-wheeler after buying a kite when his neck was slit by a string in Rakjot, a city in Western India.
Similar incidents were reported in three other places, with three men losing their lives when their necks were slit by kite strings while they were travelling on their two-wheelers.
Emergency services said a total of 130 people sustained cuts and 46 were injured while falling from a height while flying kites on Saturday and Sunday, the Tribune India reports.
It is one of the biggest festivals celebrated in the Gujarat region, celebrated from the 14th January each year, marking the formal start of the end of winter and the return of more clement weather for farmers.
Kites of all shapes and sizes are flown, usually made of lightweight paper and bamboo.
