A motorcycle taxi rider was horrifically killed when a razor-sharp kite line sliced his neck open.
Horror footage shows victim Victor Hugo Silva slumped against the crash barrier with a deep cut to his neck.
His T-shirt and jeans were soaked in blood and there was nothing the firefighters standing nearby could do.
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Silva, 38, was sliced in the neck as he rode down one of the busiest roads in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Help was called, but by the time the first responders arrived at the scene on Sunday (16 Mar), he was dead.
Silva was felled by a kite line coated with glue and powdered glass, known locally as “cerol”.
In Brazil, flying fighter kites with cerol lines 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.
Silva was on the job at the time of the fatal accident, but it is not clear if a passenger was on the pillion at the time.
The police in Rio are investigating the case, as reported by Need To Know.
If the culprit is caught, he or she may face homicide charges.
In November 2024, a tough-as-nails police officer managed to ride two-and-a-half miles to a hospital after his neck was sliced open in similar circumstances.
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 had received a long, deep cut to his neck from a cerol kite line.
Despite the nasty injury, Gama, 31, was able to ride a further four kilometres to a hospital.
He was promptly treated at the facility in São Gonçalo near Rio de Janeiro.
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 and placed on medical leave for a fortnight.
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.”
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