Auriel Missael Henrique: Father-of-three is tragically ‘sliced to death' by razor-sharp children's toy

West Australian

09-06-2025

A Brazilian father of three has died in a harrowing roadside tragedy after his neck was sliced open by a glass-coated kite string — a dangerous byproduct of a popular local sport known as kite fighting.
Auriel Missael Henrique, 41, was riding a motorcycle with his wife in Duque de Caxias, a town in northern Rio de Janeiro, when the pair collided with a nearly invisible string stretched across the road.
The thread, part of a 'linha chilena' — a fighter kite line coated with glue and powdered glass — was so sharp it severed his throat on contact.
Despite the frantic efforts of a passerby and his wife to stem the bleeding and rush him to the hospital. Mr Henrique went into cardiac arrest and died before arriving, according to the
Daily Mail
.
Mr Henrique, a motorcycle taxi driver and cook, was on his way to visit his daughter when the accident occurred.
He leaves behind three children aged 21, 19, and six.
Fighter kite competitions, though deeply rooted in Brazil's cultural traditions, have become increasingly hazardous. The objective is to use sharpened kite strings to sever opponents' kites in mid-air.
However, when these modified cords drift into traffic or public spaces, the consequences can be fatal.
Known for their ability to slice through skin, cables, and even electrical wires, the use of linha chilena is banned in several areas, including Rio de Janeiro. Yet enforcement remains patchy. More than 2800 reports of illegal use have been logged in the state since 2019.
To mitigate risks, motocyclists in some regions attach razor-equipped antennae to their bikes to cut loose lines before impact. Still, serious injuries and deaths are reported regularly.
Brazil's Congress has already passed a federal bill banning the manufacturing, sale, and use of such strings in the lower house. A vote in the Senate is pending, and if passed, violators could face one to three years in prison and steep fines.
The tragedy follows a similar incident in New York, where two cyclists were injured by kite strings on the Marine Parkway Bridge. One man remains in the hospital with serious neck injuries, while a woman riding alongside him sustained injuries to her head and hands.