A kitist flies a kite during the festival at Dholera near Ahmedabad in western Indian Gujarat state. Photo / AP
A kitist flies a kite during the festival at Dholera near Ahmedabad in western Indian Gujarat state. Photo / AP
Warning: Disturbing content
Six people have been horrifically killed after their throats were slit by razor-sharp kite strings at a festival in India.
Three children, aged 2, 3 and 7, were among those killed at the annual Uttarayan celebration in Gujurat.
Huge crowds gathered to watch the kite-fighting contests last weekend, as participants battled it out in the skies, trying to slice their opponent’s strings.
The kites themselves are harmless enough, usually made from paper and bamboo, but the firki strings that fly them are dipped in manja, a mixture of powdered glass, metals and glue, making them extremely sharp when flying through the air.
Gujurat police said several people were killed at the harvest festivities this year, while another 176 people fell or were cut during the celebrations.
The Tribune reported several children were among those who bled to death, in front of their devastated parents, at the festival.
Kirti, 2, was riding with her father on a bike in Bhavnagar when a kite string cut her neck. She was rushed to hospital but died while being treated there.
A 3-year-old girl, Kismat, was walking home with her mother in Visnagar when her neck was cut. Doctors declared her dead on arrival at the local hospital.
And 7-year-old Rishabh Verma had just bought a kite of his own for the festival and was riding with his parents on a bike when his neck was slit, in Rakjot, the Tribune reported.
A worker prepares kite strings ahead of the festival where kites are flown. Photo / AP
Three men made up the rest of the death toll from the kite strings, with their necks cut while travelling on bikes in Vadodara, Kutch and Gandhinagar districts, police said.
Swamiji Yadav, 35, Narendra Vaghela, 20, and Ashwin Gadhvi, age unknown, were named as those who died.
A further 130 people were injured by cuts from kites, while 46 people were injured in a fall from a height during the celebrations, police said.
Hundreds of people gather to watch the kite-fighting contests at the festival, finding the best spot on rooftops and terraces to watch the competition, or participate themselves.
