Runaway horses in London streets left four people injured

Several British Army horses escaped on Wednesday, April 24, causing panic in central London and injuring at least four people before being brought under control.

Images shared on social networks showed two of these animals, one white covered in blood and the other black, galloping at high speed down an avenue, overtaking a motorcycle and crashing into a taxi after passing a red light.

The incident occurred a short distance from Buckingham Palace, during an outing of a group of seven horses from the Household Cavalry, an elite unit that protects the royal family and participates in various ceremonies.

The soldiers of this unit belong to the Life Guards regiment, well known to tourists and famous for their red capes and the white feathers that decorate their helmets.

“Several Army horses escaped during a routine exercise this morning“confirmed a spokesman for the detachment.

“All horses have been checked and returned to their camp. “Several employees and animals were injured,” the same source added.

Ambulance services said they intervened around 8:25 a.m. to help a person who had fallen from a horse near Buckingham Palace, an area where the stables of several Army regiments are located.

Ambulances went to three different locations and transported four people to hospitals.

According to an Army spokesperson, The animals were scared when they heard a piece of concrete being transported by a crane fall to the asphalt. and five of them fled at a gallop, throwing four riders to the ground, three of whom were wounded, although their lives were not in danger.

“I looked in the rearview mirror and saw them coming right behind me. At the time I had two customers behind me, so I was worried about them,” a taxi driver named Robbie told the BBC. “Fortunately they kept going, but they were going fast,” he added.

Police said they had caught two of the animals in the Limehouse district, more than eight kilometers east of Buckingham Palace.

After this incident, animal protection associations called for an end to the use of horses for this type of parades, pointing out, like the British NGO Animal Justice Project, that “they do not belong to us.”