Jan 19, 2023 20:00:00

India's kite festival kills 6 children after their throats are slit with ``glass-coated sharp threads''

by REUTERS/Mansi Thapliyal

6, including three children, were killed by Indian police on January 16, 2023 during the annual kite-flying festival of

Uttarayan in the state of Gujarat, using glass dusted and sharpened string to fly a kite. It was announced that a person was killed by being decapitated and 176 people were injured by cuts and other injuries.

6 killed, 176 injured in kite flying incidents during Uttarayan festival in Gujarat : The Tribune India
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/6-killed-176-injured-in-kite-flying-incidents-during-uttarayan-festival-in-gujarat-470920

Three children among six dead in India kite festival tragedy | Evening Standard
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/india-gujarat-festival-kite-strings-deaths-b1053912.html

Three children die after throats were slit by kite strings during festival in India | Stuff.co.nz
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/asia/300787454/three-children-die-after-throats-were-slit-by-kite-strings-during-festival-in-india

Six dead, including baby, after throats slashed by kite strings at India festival | news.com.au — Australia's leading news site
https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/six-dead-including-baby-after-throats-slashed-by-kite-strings/news-story/d1f94dd81f62a1c13a26030fc5e5a553

Kirti, a 2-year-old girl who was riding a scooter with her father on January 14 in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, was taken to hospital after being decapitated with a thread and died the next day, according to a statement from the Indian police.

Also, in Visnagar, a 3-year-old girl, Kismat, was confirmed dead after being transported to a hospital after having her neck slit with a thread while walking home with her mother. Furthermore, in Rajkot, a 7-year-old boy, Rishabh Verma, died after being decapitated by a kite string while returning home with his parents on a scooter after buying a kite.

Three other men in different parts of Gujarat also died after being decapitated by a string while traveling on a scooter, bringing the total number of Uttarayan victims to six in 2023.

In addition, a total of 176 people were injured over the two days due to injuries from sharp strings and falling from heights while flying kites. In addition, the number of traffic accidents has also increased sharply, with 820 on the 14th and 461 on the 15th.

In the Indian calendar, January 14th is said to be ``the day when winter ends and summer begins, and the sun returns'', and it is a holiday until the next 15th, and festivals are held all over India. Especially in Uttarayan, which is held every year in Gujarat, where kite flying is popular, there is a competition to fly a

fighter kite , a kite that uses glass-coated sharpened string, and a kite called 'patang' locally. is held, and many people are enthusiastic about confrontation and spectators.

The thread of the pattern is so sharp and dangerous that it can easily cut human skin, so it has been prohibited by law to apply glass coating since 2016, but the reality is that it is hardly protected.

by SAM PANTHAKY / AFP

Uttarayan has suffered frequent casualties, with two youths killed by kites in 2016, and others in 2018 when they were cut by kite strings and fell from heights. 16 people have died.

Kite flying on sharp strings is also dangerous for flying birds, and reportedly 4,026 birds were injured in Uttarayan and received emergency treatment.

by Sam PANTHAKY / AFP