Ciudad Rodrigo, Spain – A 60-year-old man died Saturday morning after being gored by a bull during the opening festivities of the annual Carnaval del Toro, marking the first fatality in the event’s history in four decades. The incident occurred shortly after 1:00 a.m. Local time in the plaza’s “burladero del Alguacilillo” area, according to Dr. Enrique Crespo, head of the medical team present at the carnival.
Dr. Crespo described a swift and brutal attack. “The man, of advanced age, ran, and the bull went after him,” he told La Gaceta. “The reception was bestial. From above, seeing the scene from the Town Hall, we feared the worst.” The bull reached the man in seconds, inflicting a devastating wound.
Medical personnel immediately transported the victim to the on-site infirmary, but despite their efforts, he was pronounced dead within minutes of arrival. “He entered in agony and died within less than a minute,” Crespo stated. The horn pierced the center of the chest, causing catastrophic internal damage. “The heart was partially destroyed, half of a lung was affected, and the hemorrhage was ‘incoercible and catastrophic’,” Crespo explained. “We opened the thorax and everything was flooded with blood. It was impossible to do anything. Neither resuscitation nor anything.”
Crespo detailed the severity of the injury, stating the wound was approximately 12 to 15 centimeters in size, exposing the lung. “It was something that shocked us all,” he said. The scene reportedly caused widespread distress among the medical team and onlookers. “These are very difficult moments, for the whole town and, of course, for the family,” Crespo added.
Following the confirmation of death around 1:10 a.m., judicial protocols were activated. A forensic examiner determined an autopsy was not necessary and authorized the removal of the body by a funeral home. The Guardia Civil initiated an investigation into the incident.
Although the fatal goring was the most serious incident of the morning, Dr. Crespo reported that other attendees sustained less severe injuries. A young man was treated for chest pain, but his condition was not related to a bull attack and he was transported to a medical center in stable condition.
The tragedy marks a somber turning point for the Carnaval del Toro, which had not seen a fatality caused by a bull since 1986. On Shrove Tuesday of that year, Miguel Ángel Garzón, from Lumbrales, died after being gored by a bull from the Hermanos Ramajo ranch, according to local records.
“The impact cannot be described. The charge was bestial, the wound mortal, and the speed of the outcome did not allow us to do anything,” Crespo concluded. “These are moments that mark the entire team and the entire city.”