Toddler survives terrifying kite flight

TAIPEI: A three-year-old girl in Taiwan survived being launched into the air for a terrifying half-minute flight after she was ensnared in the tail of a kite at a weekend festival.

Dramatic footage captured the girl’s ordeal in Hsinchu city. Initial excited gasps of excitement as the large pink kite took flight turned to screams of horror as onlookers realised the toddler had become entangled in the tail, and taken along for the ride. Strong wind propelled the kite for a 31-second flight as the girl bobbed and weaved in the air. The kite eventually came down and crowds were able to free the girl unharmed.

Hsinchu mayor Lin Chih-chien said the girl suffered some scratches to her face and was terrified by the ordeal, but otherwise unharmed. "The city government expresses its deepest apologies to the girl and the public," he said on Facebook. Footage of the incident quickly went viral.