From a five-year-old boy in Panchmahal district, who succumbed to injuries sustained from a kite string while travelling with his father on a motorcycle, to a 28-year-old man in Ahmedabad who fell off the roof of the factory where he was employed while flying a kite, the state reported 11 deaths related to Uttarayan, with a majority of cases reported Tuesday. In all, over 143 kite-string related emergencies were reported in the state by GVK-EMRI, a not-for-profit that works with the state government to perform ambulance services. Of these, 39 cases were reported from Ahmedabad. In terms of fatalities, Vadodara recorded the highest number of deaths – six – while Ahmedabad, Anand, Panchmahal, Narmada, and Surat recorded one death each. Vadodara's SSG hospital reported 25 cases of those undergoing treatment for kite-string injuries as well as head injury due to a fall from the terrace on Uttarayan on January 14. Four people in the city died by falling off terraces while catching kites, one died while trying to catch a kite in front of a train and another was brought dead to the hospital after sustaining a neck slit from a kite string. Meanwhile, a 34-year-old man in Anand district was fatally injured by a kite string while riding a two-wheeler. The deceased, Satish Patel, was rushed to the civil hospital but was declared dead on arrival. Two other men in the district also sustained neck injuries due to kite strings. A five-year-old boy in Panchmahal district succumbed to kite injuries sustained while travelling with his father on a motorcycle to buy balloons. A 10-year-old boy from Dediapada in Narmada died due to electrocution while trying to pull a kite off an electricity wire. According to Dr Mahesh Modale, the Deputy Medical Superintendent of LG Hospital in Ahmedabad, “A 28-year-old man, Raj Bharatbhai, was flying kites on the roof of a factory where he was employed. He fell from the roof, sustaining grievous injuries. He was admitted at 11.30 am and.declared dead at 2 pm.” In Surat, a man was killed and his cousin injured after their bike fell off a flyover when a kite string got wrapped around the neck of the rider, said officials. Data from hospitals According to data from 11 public sector hospitals in the state's major cities, a total of 360 injuries were treated on January 14.These included 57 patients at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, 35 at GMERS Sola MCH, 34 at LG Hospital, 35 at Shardaben Hospital, 15 at SVP Hospital, and 2 at Nagri Eye Hospital — all in Ahmedabad. A total of 101 patients were treated at PDU Medical College and Civil Hospital in Rajkot. At least 30 patients were treated at SSG Hospital in Vadodara. In Surat, 16 patients were treated at the New Civil Hospital and 12 cases were treated at SMIMER Hospital. Increase in injuries Gujarat reported 4,948 medical emergencies on January 14 — 30% more than the numbers (3,809) seen on an average day, reported the GVK-EMRI services. There was a drastic increase seen in the number of trauma injuries, both vehicular and non-vehicular, according to the data. There was a 192% increase in non-vehicular injuries as compared to an average day with the state reporting 1,136 cases on Tuesday. Of these, the major cases included 443 of physical assault, 390 cases of falling, and 203 cases of crush injuries. Meanwhile, there was a 130% rise in vehicular injuries due to road traffic accidents, with the state reporting 1,020 such cases on a single day. Impact on wildlife At least 1,402 emergency calls were received by the Karuna animal ambulance service of the state government. Of these, 758 were animal-related emergencies while 644 pertained to birds.
