Man’s Fingers Got Sliced Off by Kite String When Flying Kite During Extreme Windy Conditions

As routine kite-flyers would surely attest to, kite-flying is a really fun activity to pass the time.

Breezy, entertaining and impossibly thrilling, the wind-based activity has garnered millions of fans around the world.

“I love kite-flying so much that I would fly kites almost every day!” our colleague Bao, who has expressed his love for the activity on multiple occasions, said.

Yet, despite the hilarity and entertainment kite-flying offers, the fact remains that it can be a dangerous sport if played under the wrong circumstances.

“What?” Bao quipped. “Surely you’re joking; kite-flying’s dangerous? Hah, 1st April is long over man!”

Well, I’m not kidding. Apparently, two middle-aged men in the Jiangsu city of Nantong recently sustained severe injuries while flying a kite.

“Hah like what, a paper cut?”

Well, to put it into perspective, one had three fingers cut off while the other’s palm was nearly severed into two.

Bao: “… hey, have I ever mentioned how much I love running?”

What happened?

According to a recent report by Shanghaiist, the incident had transpired eight days ago, on 9 April 2019.

Having embarked on a dual kite-flying run, the two men decided to stop upon realising that a storm was approaching, and began reeling in the string.

Things soon got complicated, however, when a strong gust of wind started blowing, and the line got wrapped around their hands.

And because the string was wrapped so tightly and the wind was blowing so hard, the line began to slice through raw flesh, in the process taking away three fingers from one man and nearly severing the other man’s palm in two.

Suffice it to say; blood began to gush freely from the wounds, and they were subsequently rushed to the hospital for treatment.

Reattachment process

Once they reached the hospital, the recovery process began. Thankfully, because the man had remembered to pick up his severed fingers (amidst a storm and gushing blood? Kudos), it seems that his digits could still be saved.

Apparently, the pointer, ring and pinky fingers were sliced off, but the middle finger remained intact.

Pretty much the reason why it’s called THE FINGER.

However, the middle finger was only attached by its bones, as the kite string had effectively destroyed the tendons, muscles and nerves.

After 16 hours of tough surgery, the results are out: the man’s digits were successfully restored to their original position, and the other man’s split-open palm was sewn back. The last I’m aware, they’re currently on their way to recovery, and their condition is stable.

Thank goodness they’re okay.

Nevertheless, let this be a lesson to all the adventurous kite-flyers out there. According to experts, a kite’s string can be as sharp as a knife under the right conditions, and gloves are advisable in order to curb unfortunate accidents from happening.

So always take care of your surroundings, and if things go south, run…

Without the kite.

You can watch the video here.