A toddler has died after being struck in the neck by a fighter kite line coated in powdered glass.
The tragedy unfolded yesterday (27 May) afternoon, when a motorcyclist was travelling along a road and a sharp kite line became entangled in the bike.
As it was dragged along, it struck Ravi Oliveira Dias, who was playing on his push-along tricycle on the pavement, leaving him with a deep neck wound.
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Ravi, aged one year, was taken from the scene in Contagem, in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state, to an urgent care centre in neighbouring Belo Horizonte, where medics spent around 20 minutes attempting to resuscitate him.
However, he had lost too much blood and was pronounced dead at the facility.
The cause of death was confirmed as a neck cut caused by a kite line coated with glue and powdered glass, known locally as “cerol”.
In Brazil, flying fighter kites with cerol-coated lines is a popular pastime among young people.
The aim is to cut the string of an opponent’s kite, as reported by Need To Know.
However, the practice is illegal and is linked to more than 100 accidents each year, according to the Brazilian Association of Motorcyclists (ABRAM).
ABRAM says around half of kite-line incidents result in serious injuries such as scarring or mutilation, while about a quarter are fatal.
The use of cerol is prohibited in Minas Gerais.
The incident was witnessed by Ravi’s sister, 21-year-old Nahuana de Oliveira Santos, who was pushing the tricycle at the time.
The motorcyclist, who remained at the scene after the accident, gave the same account to police.
Officers arrested a 19-year-old man after he confessed to flying a fighter kite in the street. He remains under investigation.
Ravi will be laid to rest in Belo Horizonte today (28 May).
Nahuana said to local media: “How many more children will have to die? Why are these things even made? Just to take more innocent lives?”
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