FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A kite surfer in died Wednesday after a strong wind picked the man off the ground, carried him 400 feet and slammed him into the second floor of a house on Fort Lauderdale Beach.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Chief Stephen Gollan said the kite surfer hadn't even gotten into the water yet when a strong wind lifted him into the air and into the house.
"He was not able to release from the kite in a timely manner," Gollan told WSVN.
The man was taken to Broward Health Medical Center, where he died a few hours later.
![ground view of kite surfer after slamming into side of Fort Lauderdale Beach home](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/89dbf25/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1280x720+0+0/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F04%2Fd1%2Fd91d0d36487ab1e32d29e789a867%2Fposter-image-2021-08-25t170914.729.jpg)
The victim's name was not immediately released.
In the sport, participants usually hook a large kite to a body harness, hold onto a bar and then put their feet into straps attached to a surfboard. They then use the kite to pull them through the water.
Kites usually come with a safety release system that can quickly disconnect the surfer if they lose control or catch a dangerous wind. It was not known if the victim’s kite had such a system or whether he had tried to activate it.