Motorist Dies After Banned Kite String Dangling From Tree Slashes His Throat

A bizarre accident in India led to the death of a 39-year-old bike rider he got entangled with a synthetic kite thread hanging from a tree.

Bheemaiah was returning home on a two-wheeler with his wife, Sharada, when he lost control of the vehicle and fell down. A synthetic kite string, locally known as "manja," hanging from the tree got entangled around his neck and left a deep laceration on Bheemaiah’s throat. The gruesome incident occurred in Telangana, India on Saturday evening, the Hindu reported.

"While we were returning home on the moped, he suddenly stopped the vehicle after crossing the bridge. I saw that his neck was entangled in manja and he was bleeding from the throat," Sharada said to The Times of India.

Hearing Sharada’s cry for help, other motorists on the road stopped and helped remove the string from the man's neck. But, Bheemaiah had lost a lot of blood on the roadside. Sharada rushed him to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Officers with the Macherial Town Police have registered a complaint against "unknown persons" and are looking for the kite flyers responsible for using the banned thread.

The sale of kite threads made of nylon and synthetic fibers has been banned in India since 2017. However, the recent incident has highlighted the lack of ban enforcement and unabated sale of synthetic kite threads which are known to cause gruesome injuries in birds.

Moreover, the ban has not prevented buyers from asking for synthetic threads. "Every day five to 10 customers come to ask for nylon Manja, we have placed a board reading 'nylon Manja not available' still, people ask for it," Saadat Bagwan, a kite seller said to the Hindustan Times.

In a similar incident, a 3-year-old in Pakistan died after a glass-coated kite string left a laceration on his throat. The child was traveling with his brother and father on a motorbike.