A woman has died after her hair got caught in the wheel of her go-kart in a freak accident at her birthday party in Indonesia.
Singaporean Arini Mohamed Adinan slammed into a barrier while go-karting at high speed. The impact caused her helmet to be thrown off, according to an eye-witness. And when a worker went to help Arini, who became unconscious, she said the locks of her "very long hair" caught in one of the kart's rear wheels.
The woman was rushed to a hospital, where she was tragically pronounced dead on arrival. The incident occurred in Bengkong, Riau Islands, Indonesia, on Wednesday February 21. It was a day before her 33rd birthday, when she was out celebrating with her friends Karmeli, Zeth and Julie.
According to local media, Zeth said she tried to brake when she saw her friend smash into the barrier, but claims she couldn’t. She said: “I had to force the kart to hit the tyre barrier to stop, but the engine was still running."
She added that they were the only drivers on the karting circuit at the time. Julie said the friends helped each other put on their helmets. Police spokesperson Zahwani Pandra Arsyad said: “Witnesses saw the victim in a go-kart with the number 14 driving two laps around the track. Her kart hit the barrier on the circuit.”
The victim was buried at the cemetery next to the Pusara Aman Mosque in Singapore at around 7pm on what would have been her birthday. Her funeral was attended by over 100 friends and family members, and now the Indonesian authorities are investigating her death.
It comes after a 17-year-old teenager had to have ten operations after being scalped in a separate go-karting accident in Brasília, Brazil in December. While she survived, Heloisa Rocha spent two months in hospital after her hair got caught in the engine.