Three soldiers have been hospitalized with “non-life-threatening injuries” after horses belonging to a regiment closely associated with the king, the Household Cavalry, threw their riders off and bolted through London Wednesday, smashing into cars and buses, knocking down pedestrians and streaming with blood.
The army gave the update on Wednesday evening via social media.
It was a reassuringly calm end to a day of panic which began when, according to the Daily Telegraph, the horses, which are kept in stables in Central London near Hyde Park, bolted at about 8:40 a.m. local time during a regular exercise session on Horseguards Parade in London’s civil service district, Whitehall.
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The Daily Mail said four people, including a serviceman, were hospitalized as a result of their injuries in three separate incidents.
The army confirmed reports the horses were spooked by loud noises from a nearby construction site.
The horses, including a white charger covered in blood, were seen racing through the city, including sightings several miles east of where they first escaped.
Two horses on the loose bolt through the streets of London near Aldwych.
Jordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty ImagesOne of the city’s main highways, Buckingham Palace Road, was closed and a first aid tent was erected so that ambulance workers could attend to an injured soldier who a witness said was left screaming in pain after he fell from his horse.
Bashir Aden, 48, a construction worker, told the Telegraph, “I saw a soldier falling down into the street after the horse ran into a car. One of my colleagues called the police.”
“The man hit the floor hard, he was screaming in pain. You could see blood all over the parked car,” he said.
“The horses come down this route every day, but today the horse looked stressed or panicked. I saw the horse run away after it hit a bus. People were screaming and running all over. The injuries looked very serious. He looked really hurt.”
Video and images online showed a black horse scattering bystanders as it charged through the city before being caught by a brave member of the public who managed to calm it down.
One horse ran into a tour bus, which was empty at the time. The City of London Police subsequently said they had recaptured all the horses.
The Household Cavalry provides the so-called Sovereign’s Escort, seen at ceremonial events such as Trooping the Color, state visits, and other royal occasions.
