BURNED TO DEATH

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22852, 6 October 1937, Page 10

BURNED TO DEATH

; HORSES IN TEUCK EIGHT ANIMALS TRAPPED / PRIOR USE OF OIL SPRAY FLAMES SPREAD IN FLASH [FBO>I OCR 6WN correspondent] SYDXEY, Sept. 30 Nine horses were destroyed recently as the result of a fire in the trucking yards at Temora, near Cootamundra, caused, it is believed, by the application of a. hot brand to a colt -which had been sprayed with crude oil to prevent lice. As the brand made contact with the foal which, with 11 horses, had been taken to Temora by Mr. "VVeston Winnett, it ignited the hair, and flames shot into the truck, into which nin« of the horses, all of which had also been sprayed, had already been placed. While the 'pain-maddened animals kicked and screamed, a gang of fettlcrs worked primitive appliances to quell the flames, and a railway engine was rushed from the station to lend assistance. In a flash, eight horses were beyond aid, and tho truck was a raging inferno It is believed that one of the animals fell against the doorway, precluding any chance of escape. The police were quickly on the scene and- a bullet ended the agony of one of the horses in the truck. The other seven were already dead when the flames were subdued. The foal rushed into the yard, suffering from terrible burns, and the police decided to shoot it. The police then followed two of the animals which, had escaped into the bush, but they failed to find them. The owner continued the search, expressing his intention to' put them out of their misery.