A five-year-old girl died horrifically when her neck was sliced open by a razor-sharp kite line used in illegal air battles.

Tragic Yasmin da Rocha had been on the back of her dad’s bike when the trailing line slashed across her throat on 7th July.

The pair had been going out to buy acai – a popular dessert – in Ananindeua, Para state, Brazil.

A relative rushed her to the closest emergency room, but she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Police said they had arrested the teenager who had been flying the illegal kite and had taken him to a police station for young offenders.

The line of his kite is known locally as a ‘linha chilena’ (Chilean line). It is typically coated with quartz powder and aluminium oxide.

Chilean lines are said to be four times sharper than the also-popular – and also-dangerous – ‘cerol’ lines, which are coated with glue and powdered glass.

In Brazil, flying kites with Chilean or ‘cerol’ lines is a popular pastime among youths.

The aim of the game is to cut the line of the opponent’s kite.

But the practice is illegal and results in more than 100 accidents every year, according to the Brazilian Association of Motorcyclists (ABRAM).

ABRAM reports that 50 per cent of kite line accidents result in serious injuries like scars and mutilations and 25 per cent are fatal.

Victims are often pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists.