Kite festival ends in tragedy after Vietnamese boy, 5, lifted 60 feet in air

A 5-year-old Vietnamese boy plunged to his death Sunday after a kite reportedly lifted him 60 feet above ground at a festival in Ho Chi Minh City.

Van Minh Dat was helping his parents sell beverages at the Dong Dieu kite field when his leg got caught in some rope tied to a giant Vietnamese flag, the New York Post reported.

Footage shot on a cellphone showed the boy being launched into the air by the kite before breaking free and falling to the ground. The boy initially survived the fall but reportedly died in an ambulance on his way to the hospital.

His aunt, who witnessed the tragedy, said the 49-foot kite was launched by members of the Saigon Kite Club as part of preparations for the festival, the Post reported.

“Everyone was looking at them because the kite had fallen to the ground a couple of times as the weather was a bit erratic, and one of the lines that snagged a table near the drinks stand knocked over some chairs as well,” the aunt said. “Dat had run over to pick up some of the fallen soft drink bottles and his leg got tangled in the kite string, which just then took off when it was hit by strong winds.”