3-year-old girl snatched into the air by kite suffers minor injuries

Taipei, Aug. 30 (CNA) A three-year-old girl was accidentally ripped into the air by a large kite on Sunday afternoon at the Hsinchu City International Kite Festival, but only suffered abrasions to her face and neck.

In videos of the incident, it was unclear how the young girl, who weighs only 13 kilograms, got close to the kite or caught up in it, but it appeared that part of the fabric at the tail-end of the kite became tangled around her neck.

She was tossed around in the air for around 30 seconds before the kite was lowered slowly and she was caught safely by people on the ground.

The girl, surnamed Lin (林), was immediately rushed to the hospital with her mother, and she was found to have suffered abrasions to her face and neck but had no broken bones, according to Hsinchu Deputy Mayor Shen Huei-hong (沈慧虹).

She has since returned home with her family, Hsinchu Mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅) said on his Facebook page.

The city government deeply regretted the incident, and will review what happened so as to hold those responsible accountable and to prevent similar accidents from happening again, Lin said.

According to Chang Li-ke (張力可), a Hsinchu government official, the wind at the festival on Sunday afternoon reached 7 on the Beaufort Scale, just one tier below gale level winds, with wind speeds ranging from 13.9 to 17.1 meters per second.

Remaining events at the festival, which was scheduled to run through Sunday evening, were canceled.