11 Dead At Pakistani Kite Festival

Metal Kite Strings, Stray Celebratory Gunfire Claim Lives At Annual Event, More Than 100 Injured

(AP)  At least 11 people died and more than 100 people were injured at an annual spring festival in eastern Pakistan celebrated with the flying of thousands of colorful kites, officials said Monday.

The deaths and injuries were caused by stray bullets, sharpened kite-strings, electrocution and people falling off rooftops on Sunday at the conclusion of the two-day Basant festival, said Ruqia Bano, spokeswoman for the emergency services in the city of Lahore.

The festival is regularly marred by casualties caused by sharp kite strings or celebratory gunshots fired into the air. Kite flyers often use strings made of wire or coated with ground glass to try to cross and cut a rival's string or damage the other kite, often after betting on the outcome.

Authorities temporarily lifted a ban on kite flying that was imposed following a string of deaths at the festival last year. Lahore Mayor Mian Amier Mahmood said the two-day permission to fly kites ended Sunday and that the ban has been re-imposed.

Police arrested more than 700 people for using sharpened kite strings or firing guns, and seized 282 illegally held weapons during this year's festival, said Aftab Cheema, a senior Lahore police officer.

Five of those who died on Sunday were hit by stray bullets, including a 6-year-school boy who was struck in the head near his home in the city's Mazang area, Bano said.

A 16-year-old girl and a school boy, 12, died after their throats were slashed by metal kite strings in separate incidents. Two people were electrocuted while they tried to recover kites tangled in overhead power cables, Bano said.

A 13-year-old boy fell to his death from the roof of his home as he tried to catch a stray kite, and a 35-year-old woman fell off the roof of her home trying to stop her son from running after a stray kite, Bano said.

Basant — which means yellow in Hindi — symbolizes the yellow mustard flowers that usually blossom in Pakistan at this time of the year.

[neojoker]

No even Steven King could have thought this up, lol.

[Free Citizen]

What's wrong with this picture? A nation that can't even have a safe festival to celebrate. Now I understand why fireworks is banned in some countries. There is no limit to the stupidity of some people.

[bildooreilly]

Send free kites.

[gunnerv1]

MITYWHITY, I'm usally with you, but I think you kinda lost your grip here.

[gunnerv1]

Vincenamy, remember to old slogan for the media- "If it bleeds, it leads" only bad news gets the attention, good news or progress is relagated to a singel colume in the third section on the back page.

[gunnerv1]

Hey Ya'all, Watch this! (just before the Redneck died)

[fizzal-2009]

Please don,t tell anyone what you are you may end up in court.

[acauble1]

hissteps4u:

Reading your post brings to mind some of the 'side show' activities done by our young (stupid) kids in cars. The activity I speak of are those who drive in circles burning up their tires, called 'donuts' in the streets. Dozens if not hundreds gather closely to watch, and when someone loses control of their car it usually means some spectators get ran over.

The interesting thought would be if the folks in Pakistan look at that news and wonder, "what morons would do such a thing?"

[acauble1]

OH BOY! I smell some abstract/film-noir style documentary!

This news story alone could be the basis for such a film! I'm telling ya', this would be the best horror movie that Steven King could only dream about! (and that would be one f'ked up dream).

[observantx]

Where are all the atheists here? They could have a Hindu free-for-all with this? Why are they not here? Because, they are on mission with satan to oppose Jesus - MITYWHITY


Uh, dude, I think you need to sit down and take a few slow deep breaths. You are definitely about to lose it.

The story is about kites. I don't see anything in the article about Satan, Jesus, etc.

Get a grip, please. You're giving Christianity a bad name when you froth like this.

[hissteps4u]

Social scientiests have known about these kinds of activities for many a year. In the eastern connumities such is a regular occurance and will be hard to stop.

Our Nation use t do such things as well till the good for all and rule of Law took hold for the betterment of Mankind and our citizens and yet still such things happen.

Change come slowly in the far east cultures and usually only by revolution. We have had our own revolution of a sorts when things changed dramaticly afterwords.

a Wind is a blowing but what direction will it stop no one knows.

It is utterly silly to think one can simply make a law and stop such activities which have such a Cultural intergration over hundreds of years in the making.

Yes time can change Peoples thinking but untill the people see the wiseness of change things will go on aS USUAL.

cULTURAL Acceptability of such customs will not change even with deaths which have been common in such areas of the world.

Japan has its festivals which kills foks every year and even in the uS we have such happening here as well every year, the Latiest a 5 year old Girl on a horse Trampled by a team of horses and killed. What are people thinking by allowing such to occure?

Stupidity rules it seems.

[mnelsonix]

Sounds like a bad horror flick.
"Attack of the Killer Kites" Mayhem at a festival. Soccer hooligans. Running with the bulls. And I thought the Raiders black hole was bad...

[adventurepa]

I think I found the problem.
"Police arrested more than 700 people for using sharpened kite strings or firing guns, and seized 282 illegally held weapons during this year's festival".

282 weapons on the streets?
It's like bringing an assault weapon to the local fair.
Stupid!

[ziggys58]

Who cares whether you worked for the State Dept? Don't blame the media for reporting on freakshow atrocities in a Stone Age country. If a dozen people were killed and 100 hurt at a US fireworks festival, it would be all over the media -- and rightly so.
Take off your PC rose-colored glasses and face the fact that life is cheap in the Third World.

[vincenamy-2009]

I am a U.S. State Department employee and spent the last two years in Pakistan, one in Lahore. I loved the Festival of Basant - the kite flying and the partying and the joy of celebrating the return of Spring. Unfortunately, kite flying in Lahore equates to kite fighting - an old, but dangerous, custom. However, it is no more so than the use of fireworks in the U.S and other countries. Sometimes celebration ends badly. It seems sad to report only the bad about Basant but I guess it makes a more arresting headline.

[vincenamy-2009]

I am a U.S. State Department employee and spent the last two years in Pakistan, one in Lahore. I loved the Festival of Basant - the kite flying and the partying and the joy of celebrating the return of Spring. Unfortunately, kite flying in Lahore equates to kite fighting - an old, but dangerous, custom. However, it is no more so than the use of fireworks in the U.S and other countries. Sometimes celebration ends badly. It seems sad to report only the bad about Basant but I guess it makes a more arresting headline.

its all fun and games until somebody gets their throat slashes by a kite string.

[mbievtea]

Does anyone have any idea what the heck MITYWHITY is talking about? What US_Infidel is trying to say? If you are going to make a comment, don't show your ignorance to everyone. It's embarrassing.

[mbievtea]

Does anyone have any idea what the heck MITYWHITY is talking about? What US_Infidel is trying to say? If you are going to make a comment, don't show your ignorance to everyone. It's embarrassing.

[Syndicate]

I think now I understand why the Taliban banned kite flying. It wasn't a wicked totalitarian rail against fun it was practical.

MITYWHITY: So Atheist are doing god's bidding by helping Satan who was created by god. And since god is all powerful nothing happens that he does not want to happen. SO god wants Atheist to not beleive. Therefore you are defing God by attacking his beloved Atheist. Bad Christian, no after life.