Britons hurt in Norway stampede

Three of the injured were seriously hurt, according to reports

Fifteen British tourists have been injured in a horse stampede in western Norway, three of them seriously.

The accident happened when about 50 Britons in horse-drawn carts were being taken back from the Briksdal glacier, a popular tourist destination.

One horse became frightened and bolted, causing some carts to overturn, a Norwegian police spokesman said.

The Foreign Office said six people were flown by rescue helicopters to local hospitals.

A further nine Britons were treated by a local doctor at the scene, on Norway's western coast.

Dr Terge Takle, at the intensive care unit of Alesund Hospital, said four British patients were being cared for there after the stampede.

"We have two ladies in their late 70s and a married couple in their 50s.

"They are moderately injured. There is no life-threatening danger to them and they are being observed during the night," he said.

Tourists frequently use horse-drawn carts to see the glacier

Two of the patients had suffered fractured bones which would be operated on on Tuesday, Dr Takle added.

The police spokesman said it was unclear what spooked the horses.

Nils Erik Eggen, spokesman for the local Norwegian police, said: "What exactly happened to them we don't know yet but the horses were frightened by something and then they suddenly behaved in a way that led the carriages to turn over.

"People were thrown out of the carriages."

The tourists were travelling in a group of 17 carriages when the accident happened.

"This is a very narrow mountain road which is partly very steep. They were about one kilometre from the glacier.

"Lots of tourists go there every day and most of them go by horse for the last few kilometres," Mr Eggen said.

He added that a group of Japanese tourists was injured in a similar accident at the same scene about four years ago.

Norwegian press reports say the group was mostly made up of pensioners.