Latest news with #AurielMissaelHenrique
Straits Times
10-06-2025
- Straits Times
Motorcyclist in Brazil dies after glass-coated kite string slits his throat
The strings of fighter kites are typically coated in a mixture of glue and powdered glass. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: PIXABAY Motorcyclist in Brazil dies after glass-coated kite string slits his throat A man in Brazil was riding his motorcycle with his wife on June 3 when a glass-coated kite string in the air sliced his neck. As the motorcycle sped on, the string split open Mr Auriel Missael Henrique's neck, causing him to begin bleeding out on the street in Duque de Caxias, a town in northern Rio de Janeiro. His wife attempted to stop the bleeding with the help of a passing driver. The duo then rushed Mr Henrique to a hospital in Nova Iguacu , Mr Henrique's niece reportedly told Brazilian news outlet Globo. However, the 41-year-old father of three died of a cardiac arrest before reaching the hospital. The strings of fighter kites are typically coated in a mixture of glue and powdered glass , known locally as linha chilena, making the cord sharp and strong enough to cut through human skin and wires, reported The Daily Mail. Lawmakers in Brazil are seeking to prohibit the manufacture, sale and use of the deadly strings. A Bill that is passing through Brazil's Congress seeks to punish offenders with one to three years' jail and a fine. While the strings are already outlawed in some crowded parts of Brazil, including Rio, kite-fighting is especially popular in Rio's favelas. The pastime involves people trying to cut the strings of one another's kites. In France and Chile, kite-fighting competitions are held in designated areas. But in places where the game is unregulated, numerous accidents and deaths have been reported. To avoid being struck by the deadly lines, motorcyclists typically put up antenna-like posts equipped with razors at the front of their bikes to cut any incoming strings, reported The Daily Mail. The practice is so common that the company managing one of Rio's main highways regularly distributes the contraption to motorists. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Daily Mirror
09-06-2025
- Daily Mirror
Dad-of-3 'sliced to death' by kids' toy on way to visit daughter
Brazilian Auriel Missael Henrique, 41, was riding on a motorbike to see his daughter when he was killed by a razor sharp piece of string from a 'fighting kite' dangling across the roadway A father-of-three has been killed in a sickening freak accident after he was sliced in the neck by a children's toy while on his way to visit his daughter. Brazilian Auriel Missael Henrique, 41, was riding with his wife on a motorcycle in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday when tragedy struck. The pair were on their way to visit Auriel's daughter in the town of Duque de Caxias in northern Rio when they collided with what looked like an ordinary string that was dangling across the road. But this length of thread came from a fighting kite - a popular pastime in Brazil, which sees participants coat the strings of their kite with glue and powdered glass in order to sever the springs of other kites. As the motorbike sped down the road the deadly cord, known locally as linha chilena, got tangled around Auriel's neck, cutting open his throat and leaving him critically injured. Auriel's niece Gislayne Crisley said that a passing driver and Auriel's wife had tried to stop the bleeding and rushed him to a hospital in Nova Iguacu, according to a report on Brazilian news outlet Globo. Tragically Auriel suffered a cardiac arrest on his way to the hospital and died before they could get him medical help. The motorcycle taxi driver and cook leaves behind three children, aged 21, 19 and six, according to local media. Kite fighting has a long history in Brazil and is the subject of much controversy. The sport sees people flying the kites, with their lethally sharp strings, in the air trying to sever each other's kite string with deft maneuvering. There are frequent cases of severe injury from discarded kite strings, with motorcyclists being particularly prone to severe mutilation or even death, as in Auriel's case, when they collide with the sharp strings. Many motorcyclists employ special antennas with razor blades on the front of their bikes that stick up and sever any string that may cross a rider's path, before I can hurt them. The sale and use of the razor-sharp lines is already outlawed in some parts of Brazil, including Rio and there is currently a bill making its way through the country's congress seeking to prohibit its manufacture, sale and use nationwide. The proposed law would see violators facing one to three years in prison and a hefty fine. The bill was approved by the lower house in February last year and is now heading towards a vote in the senate. While there are no official statistics for the number of kite string injuries annually in Brazil, a hotline set up to report their illegal use has had more than 2,800 reports since 2019.
West Australian
09-06-2025
- West Australian
Auriel Missael Henrique: Father-of-three is tragically ‘sliced to death' by razor-sharp children's toy
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.
Perth Now
09-06-2025
- Perth Now
Dad of three killed by kite line in freak motorbike tragedy
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.
Daily Mail
08-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Father-of-three is ‘sliced to death' by razor-sharp popular children's toy
A Brazilian father-of-three has died in a gruesome freak accident after he was sliced by a razor-sharp fighter kite string while on the way to visit his daughter. Auriel Missael Henrique, 41, was riding with his wife on a motorcycle through the town of Duque de Caxias in northern Rio de Janeiro when tragedy struck on Tuesday. Out of nowhere, the pair collided with what looked like an innocent string dangling across the road. But this wasn't just any string - this was a lethal thread from a fighter kite coated in glue and powdered glass, known locally as linha chilena. As the motorbike zoomed down the road, Auriel's neck became entangled in the deadly cord, splitting his throat open and leaving him critically injured and bleeding on the street. Speaking to Brazilian news outlet Globo, Auriel's niece Gislayne Crisley described how a passing driver and Auriel's wife 'tried to stop the bleeding' and rushed him to a hospital in Nova Iguacu. On the way, he suffered a cardiac arrest and died before reaching the hospital. Auriel worked as a motorcycle taxi driver and cook, according to local media. He leaves behind three children, aged 21, 19 and six. Kite fighting is a popular sport in Brazil, in which hundreds of revellers fly the lethal kites from terraces and rooftops. The aim of the contest is to cut down other kites with kite string in a kind of aerial combat. Although the game is rooted in cultural tradition, flying fighter kites has become increasingly dangerous and has resulted in numerous injuries and deaths, not only in Brazil but around the world. This is because the cord is reinforced with metal and glass powder, making it sharp enough to slice through human skin or even electric wires. A bill moving through Brazil's congress is seeking to prohibit the manufacture, sale and use of the razor-sharp lines nationwide, with violators facing one to three years in prison and a hefty fine. The lines are already outlawed in some congested areas of Brazil, including Rio. Kites have a long history in the South American nation and are particularly popular in Rio's favelas. For many, kites evoke childhood and light-hearted diversion. And some do fly kites simply to feel the wind's tug upon a harmless cotton string. But attached to cutting lines, kites can be fatal, particularly when sweeping across highways where speeding motorists struggle to spot them. While kite-fighting competitions are held safely in designated areas in countries like France and Chile, in Brazil, its widespread, unregulated use has caused numerous accidents over the years. To try to fend off the danger, motorcyclists affix thin antenna-like posts equipped with razors at the front of their bikes to snip wayward kite lines. The company that administers one of Rio's main highways regularly hands them out to motorcyclists. But cases of motorcyclists having a limb severed or throat slit remain common, leading several Brazilian states to pass laws regulating the lines, according to political consulting firm Governmental Radar. The federal bill to outlaw the razor-sharp lines nationwide was approved by Congress' lower house in February last year, and is now heading toward a Senate vote. There's no official data on the number of injuries and deaths nationwide caused by cutting lines. However, since 2019, there have been more than 2,800 reports of illegal use of the lines in Rio state alone, according to the MovRio Institute, a non-profit that runs a hotline. The tragic accident in Brazil this week comes as two New York cyclists were injured by a kite string. Jennifer Noble, 36, and her friend, a 40-year-old man, were riding along the Marine Parkway Bridge on Sunday when a kite string struck them. Noble sustained injuries to her head and hands, while the man she was with sustained severe injuries to his neck. The pair were rushed to hospital but Noble was discharged that night. The man is currently in a stable condition but remains in hospital. A GoFundMe has been set up to help him with his medical expenses.
