This is the astonishing moment a bullfighter was left seriously injured after being thrown into the air by a bull and repeatedly gored as he lay defenceless on the ground at a festival on the Costa Blanca.
Horrifying footage showed the animal digging its horn into the youngster’s right leg and bending it back and forth at the knee as he tried to reach safety behind a barrier after being knocked over.
The spectators tried to divert the bull’s attention by pulling its tail and shouting, although one of them seemed to think it might be a good idea to try to bend its legs by repeatedly kicking it. The powerfully built bull did not even flinch when attacked from behind.
Another man then risked upsetting the bull again by kicking it in the rear after it appeared to have calmed down.
The horrific scenes unfolded yesterday on the first night of the famous fiestas in Calpe, near Benidorm, where bulls are released into the streets in the so-called Bous al Carrer.
The bullfighter had no chance against the huge animal that ran through the streets.
In shocking scenes, man is repeatedly gored by a bull during a Bous al Carrer race
Spectators cringe as a bullfighter is gored in the street during a festival near Benidorm
Some tried to help the man, but they could not cope with the strength of the bull.
The severity of the victim’s injuries has not yet been made public, but they have been described locally as serious.
He remains hospitalized today. His nationality is unknown.
The most famous festival involving bulls is the San Fermin festival in the northern Spanish city of Pamplona, which takes place every July.
Dozens of runners, including tourists, especially Americans, are injured every year while being chased through the streets of the old town.
The Calpe event is popular with British expats and tourists. Bulls are let loose in the old town as part of celebrations that last virtually 24 hours a day.
Festivals involving bulls remain very popular in Spain even though bullfighting is losing its appeal among the country’s younger generations.
Last September, José Antonio Subies, 61 years old and father of two children, died in a hospital in Valencia after suffering bloody wounds that affected his liver and one of his lungs at a festival in nearby La Pobla de Fornals.
Mr Rubies was a senior executive at the ceramic wall and floor covering company Pamesa.
And last July, the so-called Messi of the Matadors was seriously injured after being knocked off balance by a 467-kilogram bull during an event in Santiago.
Andrés Roca Rey, 26, suffered multiple injuries and bruises all over his body after being gored and was rushed to hospital on July 25.
The bull attacked the Peruvian, dragging him towards the barriers surrounding the stadium and throwing him into the air.
He collapsed against the boards as others jumped in to try to distract the bull and get it to safety.
The Medical Service of the Bullring of Santander issued two reports in which they refer to a ‘multiple trauma in the left knee’ and ‘multiple bruises in the neck, face, right thigh and left knee’.
Animals are often tortured before the race to encourage them to create a spectacle.
With some weighing more than 1,000 pounds, the bull continued despite attempts to remove it.
Horrifying scenes showed onlookers pulling the bull’s tail as it charged.
Between 50 and 100 bullfighters are injured every year at bull runs alone.
The events also have horrible consequences for the animals involved.
Animal rights group PETA warns that even in bull runs, bulls are killed after the “show.”
During the San Fermin festival in July, a total of 48 bulls are tortured and killed over the course of a week, they say.
And at the start of the show, the animals are intentionally frightened by having a rocket launched at them to terrify them, before screaming spectators agitate the bull to make it run.
Animals often fall or crash headfirst while running at high speed, resulting in horrific injuries.