Kite flying is a historic pastime in India (stock image)
(Picture: REUTERS/Mansi Thapliyal)Three children are among six to have died from kite strings slicing their throats during a festival in India.
Gujarat state authorities have said 176 people were injured due to cuts and falls during the annual Uttarayan festival, which took place over the weekend.
Two girls, both two and a seven-year-old boy were the youngsters to die when “sharp strings” slit their throats. This included one toddler who was riding with her father on a bike when she became entangled with a string. Three men were also killed in the districts of Vadodara, Kutch and Gandhinagar.
Police said 30 people sustained cuts and 46 were injured while falling from a height while flying kites on Saturday and Sunday.
Thousands take part in the annual festival which is held around mid-January in cities across the Gujarat region to mark the formal beginning of the end of winter.
The losses are being mourned in India which has a proud history of the kite flying activities - which are a tradition in other parts of Asia. Khaled Hosseini's novel and subsequent film The Kite Runner centres around the tradition in Afghanistan.
However, while this number of deaths is considered a national tragedy, it is not the first time people have died during the Uttarayan festival. Two youngsters also passed away after sustaining kite injuries in 2016.
