A popular kite festival has turned tragic as six people, including three children, had their throats slit by kite strings in Gujarat, India.
Nearly 200 people were also injured last weekend due to cuts and falls while flying their kites in duels at the Uttarayan festival, reports the Daily Mail.
Hundreds of participants were perched on their roofs or terraces to engage in the “fight” of kites. The object of the competition is to shoot down other kites in an aerial battle.
The strings of festival-goers’ kites are sometimes reinforced with metal and glass powder. They become sharp enough to cut through skin and even electrical wires.
Hundreds of kite strings would have become entangled around the necks of the six victims, again according to the Daily Mail.
A 2-year-old girl was with her father in the town of Bhavnagar when a kite string wrapped around her neck and slit her throat. Kirti died in hospital.
Another kid, Kismat, 3, was walking home with her mother in the town of Visnagar when her throat was slit by the string of a kite.
Seven-year-old Rishabh Verma was killed in front of his parents after a kite string allegedly cut his throat in the city of Rajkot.
Three men also succumbed to their injuries inflicted by the kites. Swamiji Yadav, 35, Narendra Vaghela, 20, and Ashwin Gadhvi were also killed.
The police also said that 130 people also suffered cuts, while 46 others were injured by falling while flying their kites at a height.