Children killed after having throats slit by glass-coated kite string

Two children and one man have been killed in freak accidents after having their throats slit by glass-coated kite strings in India.

The incidents were all separate and occurred over a 48-hour period during celebrations for India’s Independence Day.

Three-year-old Saanchi Goyal was looking out of a sunroof in Delhi when her throat was cut by a rogue kite wire.

Local media reported that the toddler was standing on her mother’s lap admiring the kites out of the sunroof when she screamed.

Initially, her mother thought the cry was one of joy, but shortly after her daughter collapsed with blood streaming from a wound in her neck.

In scarily similar circumstances in the same city, a four-year-old boy was also killed after sticking his head out of a sunroof.

Harry, as he was been identified, was pronounced dead in hospital after the sharp string became caught around his neck.

Many locals fly kites to celebrate the national holiday on August 15.

The sharp strings known as ‘manja’ are threads similar to fishing line that are covered with metal or powdered glass to increase their strength.

They are intended to bring down other kites, but often end up in injury.

22-year-old Zafar Khan was the third victim to have his throat slit, hitting the wire at speed while riding his motorbike.

The Delhi government banned the lethal strings after the spate of recent deaths.

Last year, a five-year-old boy was killed by the strings and in 2014 a five-year-old girl fell victim.

Countless birds are also slaughtered each year after flying into the wires.

News break – August 18