Horror as three-year-old Lin was hauled into the air above spectators. Photo / Supplied viasblog.tw, Facebook
Horror as three-year-old Lin was hauled into the air above spectators. Photo / Supplied viasblog.tw, Facebook
A small girl was dragged into the sky by a runaway kite at a Taiwanese festival, while families looked on in horror. The three-year-old girl was caught in the tail of a large lolly-dispensing kite, which gusted metres into the sky.
At the kite festival in Hsinchu, kites come inall shapes and designs. As the sky fills with unlikely objects like astronauts and dragons, most sights bring joy.
However on Sunday there was one flying object that caused alarm: a small girl.
Caught on camera by a travel blogger Vias Travels, he described the moment people noticed the figure in the sky was not part of the show.
"I suddenly heard the family say in a horrified voice: 'There are children!' I'm still wondering what to say? And I looked up, oh my God, It's actually a little kid flying in the sky!"
Sharing the video to Facebook he described the event unfolding as the "little girl was rolled by a long-shaped candy kite tail, in the sky like a rag doll."
Thankfully onlookers realised what was happening and were able to get under the girl to catch her, as the gusts subsided.
The Taiwan News reported that the three-year-old girl named Lin had got caught in the tail of the kite on Sunday afternoon and had no other option but to hold on as she was pulled metres into the air.
The girl is reportedly safe, suffering only minor cuts and bruises.
The event was cut short following the incident and the city's mayor Lin Chih-chien issued an apology on behalf of city, saying that an investigation is underway to stop similar events in future.
The Nanliao Harbour in north east Taiwan is famous for its strong gusting winds. According to the locally-based Asian Kite Forum the type of kite involved is a traditional type – designed to carry payloads of sweets to drop over crowds.
Unfortunately after getting too close to the spectators it was no longer dropping sweets but whole children on the worried spectators.
"I think the long orange candy kites can keep a safer distance from tourists," wrote the blogger from Via, who caught the incident on camera.
"Perhaps because it was dropping candy, the crowds got too close to the tail? I actually wasn't too far from the kite, but it's hard to keep track of the kite tail, which is silent. It just rolled a child into the sky."
