On the afternoon of Saturday 15 August, around 3pm, a dramatic accident occurred along the paths of Val Roseg, the famous Alpine valley located in the Canton of Grisons, in the Engadine in Switzerland. A large group of around 40 tourists resident in Switzerland were returning to the municipality of Pontresina aboard two horse-drawn carriages. While traveling along a sloped stretch of track, the first car in the convoy began to pick up dangerous speed due to a failure in the braking system.
@Cantonal Police
The fall of the horse and the violent impact
Realizing the loss of braking power, the coachman driving attempted an emergency maneuver to divert the vehicle towards a flat lay-by. Right at the beginning of the detour, however, one of the draft horses fell disastrously to the ground, making the carriage completely ungovernable.
The out-of-control vehicle ended its journey crashing violently into a tree on the side of the road. Due to the terrible impact, several passengers were thrown out of the vehicle. A 73-year-old woman suffered very serious injuries and died on the spot, while 12 other passengers were injured, two of them in critical condition.
An impressive rescue machine in action
The emergency operations center has mobilized a vast relief effort to manage the severity of the situation. 3 rescue helicopters and 4 ambulances arrived at the site of the disaster and provided for the urgent transport of the injured to the hospitals in the Canton of Grisons. The Pontresina Fire Brigade, the Samedan Fire Brigade and the St. Moritz Municipal Police intervened to assist in the operations. The tourists who escaped the impact were taken care of by the psychological assistance teams set up in Pontresina, while the horses involved were made safe by the rescuers.
Ongoing investigations and the plague of tourist carriages
To clarify the exact responsibilities for the accident, the Public Ministry and the Graubünden cantonal police opened an official investigation focused on the functioning of the brakes and the conditions of the route. Whatever the cause, however, this latest dramatic episode once again brings the issue of the exploitation of animals for tourist purposes to the center of attention, an anachronistic practice that continues to subject horses to extreme physical strain along impervious or asphalted paths. Accidents of this severity demonstrate how animal traction, even if combined with mechanical means, represents an unacceptable risk both for animal welfare and for the safety of passengers.
