Christmas parade float ploughs into crowd, killing woman and injuring toddler
Horrifying footage has shown the moment a tractor float ploughed into a crowd at a Christmas parade in Spain, killing one woman and seriously injuring a two-year-old boy.
At least four other people have also been injured in the horrific incident, which saw a tractor pulling King Baltasar's carriage at a Three King's Parade lose control and career into spectators before hitting a wall.
Spanish police said they believed others were also injured as a number of "walking wounded" made their own way to a nearby hospital.
The driver of the vehicle survived but a woman in her 70s was sadly killed, local news reports.
The traditional festive parade of the Three Wise men had been taking place in Marchena, a town in Seville, when it all went horribly wrong at about 8.15pm on Thursday night.
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The tractor ran over six people (@MarcosLedesma87 / Twitter)
One woman was killed during the tragic incident (@MarcosLedesma87 / Twitter)The tractor float had been travelling with the parade through one of the streets along the route when it came to a small hill.
A video of the incident shared to social media showed the crowd screaming as the tractor then lost control and ran over people in its path.
It's still not known why the driver lost control of the vehicle and the incident is under investigation.
Witnesses described seeing the driver — a middle-aged man — attempting to brake and honking the horn at people when the tractor failed to stop.
The vehicle travelled out of control for about 25 metres because of the slope, and the driver is believed to have swerved out of the way of musicians of a band, as well as the audience.
But at least six people were run over before the tractor finally came to a stop after crashing into a wall.
A 72-year-old woman who lived in the town tragically died in the incident, while two other people were seriously injured and taken to the Virgen del Rocío Hospital in Seville.
Among the seriously injured was an adult who suffered a head injury, as well as a two-year-old child who was admitted to hospital with another trauma.
The three other injured spectators were treated at a local health centre.
Spanish newspaper Diario de Sur reported that the tractor lost control in a section of the parade that was not as busy as others.
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"If it happened at another point on the route, the consequences would have been even greater," a security officer told the paper.
Horrified spectators looked on as the incident unfolded (@MarcosLedesma87 / Twitter)
Witnesses said the driver honked to alert the crowd (@MarcosLedesma87 / Twitter)And another resident of Marchena told 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."
Sources also told them that the mayoress of Marchena, María del Mar Romero, had to be assisted at the scene of the incident due to an "anxiety crisis", as did relatives of those injured.
Members of the Local Police, Civil Guard, Fire Department of the Provincial Council attended the incident after the 112-Andalucía emergency system was alerted by a dozen calls from witnesses.
The driver is believed to have been breathalysed and tested negative for alcohol.
An investigation into how the tractor lost control is underway, with witness accounts so far pointing to a failure in the brakes.
January 5 is the traditional date in Spain for the Three Kings' Parade followed by major Christmas celebrations on January 6.
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