Six people die after having their throats slit by kite strings at kite festival
Six people, including three small children, have died in multiple horrific kite accidents after illegal strings wrapped around their necks and slit their throats.
According to police, hundreds of kite enthusiasts were injured when they attempted to duel with the toys in midair in the western state of Gujarat.
Residents headed to their roofs and terraces en masse to participate in the festival.
However some 'kite fighters' used razor sharp cords to take theirs to the sky before it ended in disaster.
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The children killed included two girls, aged two and three, and a seven-year old boy.
To make matters worse, none of the children were actually participating in the festivities when they were fatally wounded.
Police told NDTV seven-year-old Rishabh was riding with his parents on a motorised scooter, having just bought their own kite to take part in the festival when his throat was slit.
Two-year-old Kirti also was riding on a motorised scooter when she became entangled and her throat was cut.
She was rushed to hospital for treatment, but later died.
Three-year-old Kismat was walking home with her mother when a thread came in contact with her neck.
She was rushed to hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
According to police, incidents were reported in the districts of Vadodara, Kutch and Gandhinagar.
A further three men lost their lives while riding their motorbikes when they were cut down by kite strings.
As per news agency Press Trust of India, emergency services recorded a total 130 people that were injured by cuts from kites.
A further 46 were injured after falling from roofs while flying kites during the festival.
Emergency services also saw a spike in road accidents linked to the festival in recent days, with 461 cases on January 15 and 820 on January 14.
According to Statesman News Service, 188 people have since been arrested for selling Chinese nylon kite strings coated with powdered glass.
Commissioner of Police Sukhchain Singh Gill said they received nearly 200 reports of vendors selling the banned strings, which have now been linked to numerous fatalities, injuries, and injuries to wildlife.
"As per the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the Punjab Police will take strict action against those buying or selling Chinese kite flying strings," he said.
Gill added that Punjab Police have taken strict action against those sellers trading in Chinese kite string and have so far recovered as many as 10,269 Chinese spools of the dangerous material.
Topics: World News, News, Weird
Rachel Lang