In August this year, locals in northern Taiwan celebrated a kite-flying festival, and one little girl was swept into the air after a streamer became tangled around her neck. The event started with excitement but soon turned into panic as the kid entangled in the kite’s tail was tossed around in the air by the strong winds. Eventually, the crowd managed to get her down safely. But how did all of this happen, and who is to blame? Let’s find out.

10A kite-flying festival was organized and held by the Asia Kite Foundation

On the last weekend of August, before kindergartens and other schools in Taiwan reopened for the new school year, the island hosted a kite festival featuring larger-than-life designs from around the world. The Asia Kite Foundation, a Taiwanese organization that promoted the kite-flying event, warned families on Saturday to be careful on Sunday due to the afternoon’s predicted gales.

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9It was true the winds were quite robust

CNA reports that on a Sunday afternoon towards the end of August, the wind at the festival was a whopping 7, reaching speeds of 32 to 38 miles per hour (50 to 61 kmph). It’s only one notch below the level where it can be called gale.

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8The main attraction was going to be the large ‘candy kite.’

Children gathered at 4 o’clock to watch the unveiling of a “candy kite,” formally dubbed “Joy Falls From Heaven.” When the long, puffy orange fabric was launched into the air like a flying piñata, the candy inside its attached compartment was supposed to fall to the ground like rain. Several men were trying to keep the long streamer from flapping around in the wind.

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7The event was held in Hsinchu, in Taiwan’s capital city Taipei

Hsinchu, located south of Taipei, was hosting the international kite festival. Videos of the incident went viral online and showed a group of people setting up a huge, pale orange kite with a long tail for a launch in front of a large crowd of onlookers. The strong wind already caused the kite to billow.

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6A 3-year-old girl became entangled in the tail of a giant kite and was launched into the sky

The event’s organizers then release the kite, sending it soaring into the sky with a child dangling from its tail. No one knows how close she was to the kite on the ground or how she got tangled up in it. While the kite’s balloon was being lifted by a strong breeze from the grass, the 3-year-old got lassoed by the neck by the kite’s tail. The orange kite transformed into a parachute the second it was released.

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5There were screams and cries from the area as the little girl was swung around by the kite

Screams erupted from the crowd as the child hung in the air for 30 terrifying seconds among inflatable pandas and astronauts as strong winds whipped them around. While being jerked and wildly whirled across the sky by the kite and wind, the child can be seen screaming in the video.

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4Thirty seconds passed before the kid was brought back down

For roughly 30 seconds, she floated above the ground before the kite was lowered and she was caught and released by members of the audience. Less than a minute later, the wind direction changed, and the girl was whirled around in rapid circles until the kite was brought down. Onlookers quickly jumped on its tail to keep the kite from taking off again.

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3The toddler only suffered minor injuries

The media only identified the little girl from the Hsinchu International Kite Festival by her surname, Lin. She was eventually brought back down with only minor injuries. According to Taiwan’s government-run Central News Agency, she was taken to the hospital quickly along with her mother and festival staff for further medical evaluation. Luckily, she only sustained abrasions to her face and neck. She was eventually discharged and is now back with her family at home.

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2The city’s Mayor issued an apology on Facebook and announced that the festival had been temporarily halted for the safety of its attendees

Hsinchu’s Mayor, Lin Chih-Chien, issued an apology after the shocking incident, which caused the cancellation of events and added an air of foreboding to the two-day festival, which typically attracts tens of thousands of people. He pledged that an investigation would be conducted to determine what led to the accident and that those responsible would be held legally and criminally liable.

The Mayor wrote in a statement- “The city government expresses its deepest apologies to the public and to the individuals involved, and we will review the reasons to avoid this type of accident from ever happening again, conducting a thorough review and holding people to account.”

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1Lin’s parents stated that they were partly responsible for the tragic incident

Shie Jiun-hung, an official with the Fisheries Department, told reporters on Monday that the girl’s parents believed they were to blame for the incident. The Mayor promised that the city would institute new, more stringent regulations to prevent candy kites from ever again being flown at public events. Now watch the video