SIX people were horrifically sliced to death by glass-encrusted kite strings after a blood-drenched festival in India.
Three children, including a baby, are among the dead after the day of celebration in Gujarat turned sinister on Saturday.
The spectators' throats were sliced open by the razor-sharp strings used by "kite fighters" at the annual Uttarayan festival.
It's understood at least 11 people died during the festival after either plunging from buildings or being sliced by the strings.
Huge crowds had gathered to watch the spectacle in the sky, where participants battle to slice their opponent's cords.
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The mid-air tussle for triumph tragically saw two baby girls, aged two and three, and a boy, 7, bleed to death in front of their helpless parents.
Hundreds of participants positioned themselves on terraces and rooftops to send their kites soaring before chaos erupted.
Revellers had used "sharp" strings to fly their colourful creations in the hopes of cutting off their competitors.
The vibrant kites are typically made of lightweight paper and bamboo, before being attached to lines that are embossed in a mixture of glue, ground glass before being reinforced with metal.
The strings, known as firkees, are then dried, rolled up and attached to the rear.
Flying enthusiasts often make them so sharp that the strings are capable of shredding through human skin - or even electric wires.
The victims' throats were gruesomely slit when the out-of-control cords became entangled around their necks.
Traumatised onlookers watched on as the unruly strings wrapped victims necks at the annual kite flying festival.
A further 176 people also sustained injuries from cuts and falls while flying the kites at the festivities to commemorate the start of the harvest season.
The youngest victim, Kirti, was a two-year-old girl who attended the Uttarayan festival in Bhavnagar city with her dad.
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The tragic tot was riding her scooter when the kite strings became wrapped around her neck.
She passed away on Sunday after being rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment, Tribune India reported.
A three-year-old girl was walking home with her mother in Visnagar town when one of the fatal thread's slit her throat.
Police said the youngster, named Kismat, was taken to hospital before being pronounced dead by medics.
Rishabh Verma, 7, was also killed as he rode home with his parents on a scooter in Rajkot.
Swamiji Yadav, 35, was scooting across a bridge in Vadodara when a wayward kite string cut his throat.
KITE CALAMITY
Narendra Vaghela, 20, was killed in similar circumstances in Gandhidham city of Kutch district, alongside Ashwin Gadhvi in Kalol town of Gandhinagar, according to cops.
A whopping 130 people sustained cuts during the Uttarayan festival while another 46 were injured after falling from a height while flying kites over the weekend.
In 2018, 16 people were killed at the celebration of winter turning to summer when they were slashed by the kite strings while others toppled off terraces.
Reports claimed 4,026 birds also required emergency treatment after they were caught up in the chaos.
Officials said 214 of the animals succumbed to their injuries following the horror incident five years ago.
The popular kite flying festival also brought air traffic to a standstill, after kites and lanterns littered the runways at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad.
Despite the presumed pleasure and beauty of flying a kite, the craft has claimed the lives of hundreds of people.
The sharp strings used on kites by participants sport razor-like metal strips and abrasions, designed to slice through their opponent's lines - but they double as a deadly weapon.
Due to the unpredictability of kites combined with weather impacts, the dangerous strings are difficult to control.
Officials in Pakistan banned the practice in 2007 following a string of deaths - with most of the victims being children.
But cops arrested over 10,000 people for violating the kite flying rule in Lahore alone in 2021.
Campaigners called for authorities to bring in harsher punishments to curb the popularity of the dangerous activity.
