Fourteen people taken to hospital after horse-drawn stagecoach crashed off bridge

Several people remain in hospital after a horse-drawn stagecoach fell from a bridge on the outskirts of Longreach in outback Queensland, Australia. Police say four horses pulling the tourist coach were spooked, causing the carriage to fall three metres off a bridge into a dry creek bed, just before 11:00am on Monday.



Head of the Central West Hospital and Health Service Dr David Rimmer said 12 tourists and both drivers were injured and taken to hospital. He said several people had broken bones but there were no life-threatening injuries. Some require surgery and will be flown to coastal hospitals. "Some of the injuries were quite trivial and those people have been allowed home, some of the injuries are significant and people will require admission to hospital for observational pain relief," he said.

"We expect to admit four or five people. There are a number of people with broken bones which will require some further care but fortunately no one with multiple injuries." Inspector Mark Henderson said it was a disturbing scene. "Unfortunately it is one of those accidents where animals have a mind of their own and they just can't be controlled," he said.



"The stagecoach has been running in this town for many, many, many years and I'm certainly not aware of any accident of this severity." It is understood the horses pulling the coach became spooked when a wind gust caused rubbish to fly onto the road. Police say the horses are reported to be uninjured. Investigations are continuing.

With short video.