Girl swung violently in sky, scene filled with screams
By Sylvia Teng via Taiwan News, Staff Writer
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A three-year-old girl was pulled violently into the sky by a large kite after a gust of strong winds hit the Nanliao Harbor of Hsinchu City on Sunday (Aug. 30).
The 2020 International Kite Festival kicked off this weekend in Hsinchu, a northeastern region famous for its high winds. The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon when a kite with a long strip was accidentally set flying by a sudden gust.
A three-year-old girl surnamed Lin, whose stomach had somehow been entangled with one end of the strip, was instantly pulled into the sky with the kite by the winds.
Based on the footage shared on social media, the girl appears to have swung violently in the sky for several seconds before the kite was pulled down by someone on the ground. A group of people who had been waiting then managed to catch the girl when she fell, and the scene was filled with screaming and yelling.
Despite the apparent fright, the girl only suffered mild scratches to her face and neck. Accompanied by her mother, she was sent immediately to the hospital by the event staffers.
The city government, which organized the festival, called off the entire event shortly after the incident. The city’s mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅) made an apology later via Facebook.
“The city government team offers its sincere apology to the victim and the public,” said Lin, adding that the authorities will start an investigation into the incident so as to prevent similar cases from happening again in the future.
Chen Ko-fang (鄭可方), secretary-general of the Taiwan-based Asian Kite Forum, said the kite was supposed to carry candies that would be scattered from the sky to children. She said the kids would usually be kept at a distance until the kite was airborne, but the organizers did not expect the sudden strong winds, which reportedly measured a level 7 on the Beaufort scale. Read more from Taiwan News.
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