Horror as Christmas parade float ploughs into screaming crowd killing woman & running over boy, 2, as five injured
A CHRISTMAS Parade ended in tragedy, leaving a 72-year-old woman dead and a two-year-old boy seriously injured.
At least four other people were injured after a tractor broke loose and rolled down a hill, mowing down spectators before slamming into a wall.
Police believe others were injured as a number of “walking wounded” made their way to a nearby hospital.
The Christmas parade of the Three Wise Men was taking place in Marchena, a small town in Seville, Spain, when the accident happened around 8.15pm last night.
For reasons still under investigation, the tractor that pulled King Baltasar’s carriage lost control and created a path of destruction.
According to witnesses, the driver tried in vain to stop the vehicle, but was unable to, so he honked his horn to warn parade-goers.
He managed to avoid musicians of the band and the audience but ran over the victims before crashing into a wall.
The tractor travelled about 25 metres out of control because of the slope the parade route was on.
The toddler was rushed to Virgen del Rocío Children’s Hospital in Seville, and six others were taken to local hospital.
One adult suffered a serious head trauma, but the remainder were treated and released from hospital.
Spanish newspaper Diario de Sur said the street where the incident happened was one of the less busy areas of the parade route.
A security officer told the paper: “If it happened at another point on the route, the consequences would have been even greater.”
And another resident of Marchena recalled the event to Diario de Sur: “I began to hear ‘ay, ay, ay’.
“I saw people running everywhere, the tractor running over people. And then everyone trying to help the injured or people who had a nervous breakdown.”
Marchena mayoress María del Mar Romero was treated due to an anxiety crisis, as were relatives of those injured.
The 112-Andalucía emergency system received dozens of calls from witnesses alerting them to what had happened.
An investigation is now underway, but early leads point to brake failure.
January 5 is the traditional date in Spain for the Three Kings’ Parade followed by major Christmas celebrations on January 6.