Man gored to death by bull at Spanish festival after horn stabs leg artery

A 55-year-old man become the first person fatally gored by a bull let loose at an annual Spanish festival since the start of the Covid pandemic.

The animal was filmed lifting him in the air on the end of its horns and dumping him on the ground as shocked onlookers took shelter in a shop doorway a few feet away.

Other revellers tried to entice the bull away to stop it attacking the injured man again as he lay unconscious on the ground.

He was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead shortly afterwards after haemorrhaging blood from a gore wound in his left thigh near to his groin which perforated his femoral artery.

Town hall officials in Onda in the eastern Spanish province of Castellon where the incident happened announced they were suspending the rest of the night’s events when they learned he had lost his life.

A 55-year-old man has been gored by a rampaging bull in Castellon ( SOLARPIX.COM)

The dead man, who came from the nearby town of La Vall d’Uixo, has not yet been named.

Footage of the horror moment showed him standing still in front of the bull as it charged him.

The man, who was wearing a white baseball cap, red top and black trousers, was turned over in the air by the animal and crashed down onto the pavement on his head and back.

He was given emergency treatment by a doctor at the scene before being taken by ambulance to Hospital de la Plana in nearby Villarreal where he was pronounced dead.

The tragedy happened during a festival in the Spanish town of Castellon ( SOLARPIX.COM)

A commentator for a local TV station, which is thought to have broadcast the incident live, could be overheard saying: “We’ve had quite a strong somersault here. Let’s hope it’s nothing serious but it looks as if he’s lying motionless.”

The incident happened during the Fira de Onda, an annual festivity where bulls are let loose on the streets which the regional government describes on its website as an “excuse for celebration.”

The running of the bulls, where revellers race through the streets like in the famous San Fermines event in the northern Spanish town of Pamplona, form a central part of the festivities.

The Fira de Onda festival was cancelled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The deceased man came from a nearby town and his name is yet to be released ( SOLARPIX.COM)

This afternoon’'s fatal bull goring has been described as the first of its kind in a Spanish festival involving the animals since the start of the health crisis.

Onda Town Hall confirmed in a statement after the incident: “Due to the death of a man this afternoon and as a sign of respect and show of condolence, the rest of the programmed night-time events have been suspended.

The Fira de Onda takes place during the last week of October when Onda celebrates its patron saint festival.

Bulls are let loose in the streets of Castellon as part of the Fira de Onda festival ( SOLARPIX.COM)

A religious procession and the bull events are the biggest draws.

Before the coronavirus pandemic several revellers were gored to death every year at Spanish festivals involving bulls being let onto the street including the Pamplona-style ‘encierros.’

In 2015 seven people died between the start of July and the middle of August.

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