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3-year-old girl caught in giant kite lifted 100 feet in air as terrified festival goers watch in viral video

The girl was tossed as high as a hundred feet and spent at least 30 seconds in the air until she went low enough that she could be grabbed by concerned audience members
PUBLISHED AUG 31, 2020
(Screenshot/Reddit)
(Screenshot/Reddit)

A horrifying video shows a young child who getting caught in a large kite and being thrown around by strong winds several feet in the air before she's finally rescued by a group of bystanders. The incident unfolded as revelers celebrated the 2020 International Kite Festival this past Sunday, August 30, in Hsinchu, a northwestern city in Taiwan that's known for its forceful winds, according to Taiwan News.

Footage uploaded on various social media platforms showed the child, a three-year-old girl identified only as Lin, being tossed around in the air for several seconds after she got entwined in a giant pale orange kite before she drops low enough to allow terrified bystanders to intervene and save her.

A longer video uploaded on YouTube by a local media outlet showed a large group of people who had gathered to await the launch of the kite, which was being handled by around three or four men. The men could be seen visibly struggling to contain the kite as the winds threatened to blow it away before eventually setting it free.

However, the cheers of the crowd quickly turned into screams as people noticed that Lin had somehow been caught in its tail by her torso. The Sun, citing local reports, said that the young girl, who weighed just 28 pounds, was tossed as high as a hundred feet in the air and spent at least 30 seconds being swung about wildly by the winds and the kite until luck favored her and she went low enough that she could be grabbed by concerned audience members.

Lin was immediately rushed to an area hospital with her mother and festival staffers, and fortunately, was found to have suffered only minor injuries with abrasions to her face and neck, according to Taiwan's government-run Central News Agency. She has since been discharged and is recovering at home with her family.

CNN reported that the wind at the festival on Sunday afternoon was "unusually strong" and reached a 7 on the Beaufort Scale - which means that the wind speeds ranged from 32 to 38 miles per hour, which is just one tier below gale-level winds on the scale.

In a statement on Facebook, Hsinchu Mayor Lin Chih-chien apologized for the incident and announced that the festival had been suspended with immediate effect to ensure the attendants' safety. "In the afternoon, at the scene of the kite festival organized by the Hsinchu City Government, an accident occurred in the end of the kite-tail section of the kite, causing a child to suffer face bruises," he wrote. "We immediately suspended the activities on the scene to ensure the safety of the public and the staff accompanied the parents and the children to the hospital."

"Fortunately, the child is safe after the examination, and now she has returned home," he continued. "The municipal team expresses its deepest apologies to the parties and the community at large, and we will review the reasons to avoid the recurrence of accidents, and we will take accountability and conduct an in-depth review."

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