Horror as horses ESCAPE and run into traffic in motorway carnage

The carnage began to unfold when the animals ran onto a busy motorway in Golling in the Austrian state of Salzburg.

In the most horrific incident, a horse was killed instantly when it smashed through the windscreen of a German family’s campervan.

Shocking pictures of the aftermath of the collision show the dead horse sticking out of the badly-damaged vehicle.

The 45-year-old German driver and his 13-year-old son, who was travelling the passenger seat, both suffered serious injuries in the late-night pile-up.

Emergency services said a total of four horses ran onto the motorway, with heavy rain making it difficult for motorists to avoid them.

A second horse died at the scene following the freak accident while a third was hit by a lorry and was found near the motorway.

The lorry driver was uninjured and pulled off at the next motorway service station.

A large emergency services operation was launched with one horse successfully rescued and returned to its owner.

Fire brigade director of operations Peter Schluet said: "The fourth horse that survived the collision could later be found and caught in the area of a slip road."

Around 30 firefighters in five fire engines took part in the emergency response along with police, paramedics and vets.

The road was closed for two hours with paramedics providing first aid for the injured father and son before taking them to hospital.