Kite drags girl by the neck over horrified crowd at Taiwan festival
- Strong winds entangle three-year-old in long tail of a kite intended to distribute confectionery to children
- Evening activities at Hsinchu city’s international kite show abandoned after the incident
The girl was airborne for around 30 seconds before she was safely pulled to the ground on Sunday afternoon at an international kite festival in the city of Hsinchu’s fishing port.
The child, who weighs 13kg and was identified only by her surname Lin, was captured on video being hurled over the crowd as the long kite tail snaps in the strong winds. She sustained minor abrasions to her neck and face, according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA).
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Girl in Taiwan sent flying into the air by giant kite
The incident occurred during the two-day Hsinchu International Kite Festival which this year attracted some 100,000 visitors. The city’s mayor Lin Chih-chien said on his official Facebook page that planned festival activities on Sunday evening were suspended after the incident, and issued an apology.
“The city government expresses its deepest apologies to the public and to the individual involved, and we will review the reasons to avoid this type of accident from ever happening again, conducting a thorough review and holding people to account,” he wrote.
Chang Li-ke, a Hsinchu government official, was quoted by CNA as saying that winds on Sunday afternoon had reached up to No 7 on the Beaufort wind scale – between 13.9 to 17.1 metres per second – leading to the long tail of a kite, intended to release confectionery to children, to trap the girl’s neck.
“The city government and organiser both blame ourselves for this accident,” Chang said. “In the future, the area for people will be separate, in order to maintain a safe distance for releasing the kites. When there are strong winds, then relevant projects will also be suspended.”