18 hours ago
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.
