Kite string slices man’s neck

Humayun Kobir remembers seeing blood splatter onto the windshield of his black Suzuki motorcycle after his neck was sliced open by a kite string.

“When I saw the blood squirting, I put my hand on my wound to put pressure on it. I couldn’t feel anything. I just felt warm blood coming out,” said the 27-year-old father of two, who was injured near Warden Woods Park on Sunday.

Police said Kobir was cut by a strand of “high-strength” kite fighting string. The sport, popular in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, often uses a string called manja, which is coated in an abrasive powdered glass compound. Opponents duel with one another until one kite string cuts the other.

Last June, Toronto City Council imposed a $250 fine to deter the use of manja because it is coated in “hazardous materials.” Kite fighting is also prohibited unless participants have a permit.

“This is why (kite fighting) was taken so seriously,” said Councillor Michelle Berardinetti, who represents the area where Kobir was injured.

Local residents have complained to the councillor in the past about kite string, she said.

When emergency crews arrived to Kobir’s aide, police found several hundred metres of kite fighting string strewn across hydro poles and trees including some wrapped around a hydro pole.

Investigators are still trying to determine whether it was placed there with “malicious” intent.

“These kite wars have been going on for a period of time and it’s piqued our interest more now because somebody got injured,” said Staff Sgt. Mike Gottschalk.

Police are also looking into tips that people have been tying kite string between poles in the past few weeks, Gottschalk added.

Gogi Malik, who flies and fights kites in Toronto, uses 100 per cent cotton string as per city rules. He says the kite fighters he knows use cotton string as well as apply for the proper permits.

Police Const. Tony Vella said serious kite string injuries like last Sunday’s are not common in Toronto.

In India, however, the Ahmedabad Mirror reported more than 400 injuries during a Hindu kite festival last year due to stray string. According to the media outlet, the manja also sliced a scooter rider’s throat, killing him.

Toronto banned kite-flying in Scarborough’s Milliken Park last summer, citing safety concerns due to discarded string.

Even though manja is prohibited by the city, it can still be purchased and imported to Canada. Berardinetti said council will now pressure the federal government to ban the import of dangerous kite string.

Meanwhile, Kobir is recovering in his Scarborough home, nursing a stitched up neck.

He still has a bag of blood-soaked clothing from the accident and a bundle of the red string.

Asked whether he would ride his bike again, Kobir paused: “I don’t know.”