During an annual festival in Spain, a reveller narrowly escaped death after being gored by a bull; three others perished within a 24-hour period.
The man was trampled and held down by the enraged animal for almost 30 seconds, its horns narrowly missing his head and stomach, according to video footage.
In an unsuccessful attempt to divert the bull’s attention and convince it to turn away from its prey, other runners could be seen leaping around it while frantically waving their arms.
However, the man eventually managed to escape, ran off, and dove into the water to avoid what appeared to be certain death.
According to local reports, he was later taken to the hospital with a gore injury to his groyne as well as other minor cuts and bruises, miraculously escaping with no serious life-threatening wounds.
The shocking incident occurred on Thursday afternoon during the Bous a la Mar, or “Bulls in the Sea,” a yearly celebration in the Benidorm-area resort town of Moraira on the Costa Blanca.
Bulls are let loose in a makeshift bull ring set up in an enclosed arena by the marina quayside, and spectators taunt the animals by jumping into the water or scaling platforms to avoid being charged and gored.
On Wednesday, it was revealed that three people had passed away in the previous day after being gored by bulls at other local festivals.
It was also confirmed that a 56-year-old man who had been rushed to intensive care on July 12 with head and gore injuries from an incident in Picassent near the city of Valencia had lost his battle for life there.
According to the local town hall, a day of mourning was declared after learning of the man’s passing.
A 50-year-old man called Josep Antoni Garcia Arnau had passed on the day before in a different hospital in Valencia from wounds sustained when he was thrown into the air by a bull at a festival in Meliana, which is 40 miles north of Picassent.
He had seven broken ribs, one of which is thought to have pierced one of his lungs and led to an accumulation of blood and fluid that ultimately led to his death.
On Monday, it was made official that a 64-year-old Frenchman had passed away in a hospital nine days after being gored during an annual event in Pedreguer, Costa Blanca, around 30 minutes outside of Moraira.
Bulls in the Street, or Bous Al Carrer as they are known locally, is a term that all three men had been participating in.
At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the long-standing customs were abandoned, but the Spanish holiday calendar has since returned to normal.
This month marked the first time in two years that Pamplona, a city in northern Spain, hosted the renowned San Fermin celebration, also known as the Running of the Bulls.
No one was killed, but several spectators sustained gore wounds while trying to outrun the bulls before they were herded into pens at the back of the bullring along the half-mile track through the old town.