"Acute heart attack"

Horse-drawn carriage collapses on the road – dead!

The dead horse was lying in the middle of the road under the tarpaulin.

(Bild: Leserreporter Martin K.)

Shock for passers-by in Vienna-Simmering: a horse-drawn carriage collapsed in the middle of the street on Wednesday morning and died on the spot.

Reader reporter Martin K. sent us pictures of the incident. A horse lies motionless on Rinnböckstraße in the 11th district. A tarpaulin covers the white horse. Next to it is the carriage and passers-by, who stare stunned and shocked at the misery on the ground.

The dead horse was lying in the middle of the street under the tarpaulin.

(Bild: Leserreporter Martin K.)

Passers-by rushed to help
Some of those present apparently tried to save the carriage horse and rushed over with water. In vain.

Passers-by apparently tried to save the animal and fetched water.

(Bild: Leserreporter Martin K.)

MA 60: No autopsy
The MA 60 (veterinary office) assumes a "sudden cardiac death". "After consultation with the hackney carriage operator, the horse's health was still completely normal in the morning," said official veterinarian Susanne Drechsler. Therefore, no post-mortem examination of the animal was ordered. 

"We are simply shocked. Does a horse really have to die before it becomes clear how dangerous hackney carriage driving is for the horses?" says the organization Vier Pfoten, which campaigns for the abolition of hackney carriages. The Viennese hackney carriages want to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as a cultural asset. Animal rights activists are also against this. 

This is what the hackney carriage operator says
"The deceased horse is our Trudi, a very lovely mare with a lot of character. She walked out of the stable door this morning as healthy as ever. There was absolutely nothing wrong with her and we are deeply saddened. It is even more difficult to find words to express this loss to the public. Above all because perhaps not everyone is aware that this loss is equivalent to that of a family member," says Fiaker Paul.

And further: "The coachman himself is in shock and has been granted leave. He acted in the best possible way in this exceptional situation and in accordance with the emergency guidelines in the textbook. He remained calm during the tragic incident and accordingly also kept the second horse calm until help finally arrived. The second horse was brought home immediately after the death of his partner was confirmed."