A tough-as-nails police officer managed to ride two-and-a-half miles to a hospital after his neck was sliced open by a razor-sharp kite wire.
Paulo Victor Darbelly Gama was heading back to his workplace on his motorbike when he suddenly felt a burning sensation in his neck.
He quickly realised he’d received a long, deep cut to his neck from a kite line coated with glue and powdered glass.
READ MORE: Terrifying footage shows train ploughing into truck on level crossing, injuring seven passengers
Despite the nasty injury, Gama, 31, was able to ride to a hospital.
He was promptly treated at the facility in São Gonçalo, near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
He was snapped in his hospital bed giving the thumbs up with a thick bandage wrapped around his neck.
After receiving numerous stitches, Gama was discharged.
He is now on medical leave for a fortnight and will need to undergo another check-up due to the severity of his injury.
Gama, a municipal guard, was riding on the BR-101 highway from Rio de Janeiro to São Gonçalo when he was injured by the kite line on Monday (Nov 25) evening.
He told local media: “I managed to stop the bleeding and kept riding my motorcycle to the central emergency room, which was about 10 minutes away from the accident site.
“Once there, the on-call team took great care of me, quickly providing help and managing the situation.”
In Brazil, flying fighter kites with “Chilean” or “cerol” lines, as they’re known locally, is a popular pastime among youths.
The aim of the game is to cut the line of the opponent’s kite.
But the practice is illegal and results in more than 100 accidents every year, according to the Brazilian Association of Motorcyclists (ABRAM).
ABRAM reports that half of kite-line accidents result in serious injuries, such as scars and mutilations, and a quarter are fatal.
Gama’s wife, Liliane Souzella, told local media: “I could be delivering a very different piece of news today, not the one about my husband being here with me.
“So, I just want to make an appeal to everyone not to use these lines, because today, thank God, he’s fine.
“But it could have been much worse. Don’t use Chilean kite lines, don’t use cerol. It’s very dangerous.”
Twenty-three accidents caused by fighter kites have been recorded in São Gonçalo so far this year alone, as reported by Need To Know.
The use, sale, and transport of cerol lines is a crime, with fines of 5,000 BRL (£661) and three months to a year in prison.
READ MORE: Wedding car explodes after passenger ignites firecrackers through sunroof
