Horseback pilgrimage in Vendas Novas ends in tragedy: father dies and son is injured after animals get scared

“They were preparing the horses”, but the animals “got scared and they were run over”, said a local fire department source

A man died and his son suffered injuries considered minor after they were run over this Wednesday, in the municipality of Vendas Novas (Évora), by a cart participating in the Pilgrimage on Horseback, revealed the Civil Protection and the GNR.

A source from the Évora Territorial Command of the GNR explained to the Lusa agency that the fatal victim, “a 56-year-old man”, and “his 28-year-old son”, were both run over by the cart that “is part of the Horseback Pilgrimage” between Moita (Setúbal) and Viana do Alentejo (Évora).

“The collision occurred on the Landeira football field, in the municipality of Vendas Novas. According to the information that the GNR soldiers gathered, the horses walked alone with the cart and the two people were run over”, said the same source.

Also contacted by Lusa, a source from the Central Alentejo Sub-Regional Emergency and Civil Protection Command explained that the alert for the road accident, involving “one of the horse carriages of the Pilgrimage on Horseback”, was given to the firefighters at 12:28.

“The slightly injured person was transported to the hospital in Évora” and the helicopter from this Alentejo city from the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) was sent to the scene of the incident, but the 56-year-old man ended up dying, finding himself the body was still at the scene, around 3:20 pm.

A source from the Vendas Novas Fire Department explained to Lusa that the participants of the Horse Riding Pilgrimage, which departed from the town of Moita on Tuesday, were “in a park with the horses”, on the Landeira football field.

“They were preparing the horses”, but the animals “got scared and they were run over”, said the same source.

Those involved, claimed the fire department source, “were all from the pilgrimage, but they were all stopped doing the logistics and preparation to resume” the route.

The pilgrimage ends in Viana do Alentejo, where it is scheduled to arrive on Saturday afternoon, according to the program consulted by Lusa.

15 operatives were mobilized to the scene of the collision, supported by six vehicles and the helicopter, including resources from the firefighters, GNR and INEM.