Runaway horse is knocked down and killed in Palma

The issues of the safety and welfare of the horses used to draw carriages around Palma and other parts of the island is set to be raised after a traffic accident which resulted with the death of a horse in the centre of Palma. The accident happened at 13.45 when a horse and carriage became entangled with a Mercedes in front of the cathedral. The carriage flipped over and the startled horse broke free from its harness. Disorientated and clearly very frightened, the horse bolted off along the main road in the direction of the GESA building. As the animal broke from a trot into a canter, it placed the lives of a number of petrified drivers and motorcyclists at risk. As the horse neared the petrol station at the Avenidas crossroads, it was hit by a rented Opel Corsa. The foreign couple in the car escaped unhurt, but the seriously injured horse collapsed on the tarmac and died moments later. Traffic along the busy road backed up in both directions as police rushed to the scene concerned both for the welfare of the passengers in the vehicle and the horse. While traffic police managed to re-open the road and get traffic flowing again, council workers tried to remove the horse from the road. But because of the weight of the animal, their attempts failed at first and the use of a lorry with a hydraulic lift was needed to accomplish the task. Miraculously nobody was hurt in the incident. Police yesterday took statements from the carriage driver, who was on board the carriage during the first accident, and the driver of the Mercedes, whose vehicle suffered damages to the bonnet. This summer the Bulletin received a number of letters from tourists concerned about the welfare of the horses.