The Consulate General of India in New York has expressed condolences over the death of 18-year-old Indian tourist Romanch Mahajan, who was killed after sustaining injuries in a horse carriage accident in Central Park during his first visit to New York with his family.
In a post on X, the Consulate General of India in New York said that "we are deeply saddened" by Mahajan's "untimely demise".
Mahajan, an Indian national, "tragically lost his life following a fall from a horse carriage in Central Park, New York.
"Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with his family during this difficult time. The Consulate is in touch with the family and is extending all possible assistance and support," it said.
According to The New York Times, the accident occurred on Wednesday when the driver stopped to take a family photograph and the horse suddenly bolted.
"We were yelling, 'Help me, help me!" Deepak Mahajan, Romanch's father, said.
The family clung to one another, but when Deepak's wife, Priya, fell from the carriage, Romanch jumped down to help her.
"My son, just to save his mother, he fell off," said Deepak. "He was screaming, 'Mom!'"
"The horse got scared and ran superfast," Tatianna Bresler, who works at the Tavern on the Green, told The New York Post.
Bresler, who called 911 after witnessing the incident and hearing screams, said a bystander managed to slow the runaway horse before the carriage flipped over.
Romanch suffered a head injury and later died on Wednesday night at NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Centre, the report said.
His father, mother and younger brother escaped with minor injuries, although their carriage collided with another carriage and overturned, shattering into pieces.
The tragedy has renewed scrutiny of horse-drawn carriages operating in Central Park.
Reacting to the death, a spokesperson for the Central Park Conservancy said the organisation was "absolutely devastated" to learn of the young man's death.
"On behalf of everyone at the Central Park Conservancy, our deepest condolences go out to his family and loved ones during this unimaginable time," the spokesperson said.
The Conservancy said "this is the tragedy we feared when we first called last year for horse carriages to be banned from Central Park due to the risks they pose to public safety and public health".
"A young man came to enjoy our park and lost his life. That is not an acceptable cost of an antiquated industry operating in the middle of one of the most heavily used public spaces in America," it said.
The Conservancy renewed its call for New York City to pass Ryder's Law, which would ban horse carriages and provide transitional job placement services for drivers.
"Every day horse carriages are in the park is a day the safety of New Yorkers and visitors is in jeopardy," it said.
The park conservancy noted that there have been eight horse-related incidents in or near Central Park since May 2025.
The union representing carriage drivers said the accident should never have happened.
"It appears the driver was at least at arm's length from his horse," Alexander Kemp, a vice president of the union, Transport Workers Union Local 100, said in a statement.
"This is unacceptable. A driver is not supposed to leave the carriage to take photos - ever. We support a full investigation."
Kemp said the driver, whose identity was not immediately released, has been suspended indefinitely by the carriage owner.
The incident also prompted renewed calls for a ban on horse-drawn carriages in the city.
"We cannot allow this to be treated as another isolated incident," City Councilman Christopher Marte, who has introduced legislation to ban the carriages at the end of next year, said in a statement.
"The Council must act with the urgency this tragedy demands," Marte said.