A 24-year-old man has died after being gored by a bull with flaming horns during a traditional bull-running event in Vallada, Valencia, Spain. Adrian Martinez Fernandez was attacked on Sunday during the annual festival honouring the town's patron saint.
Footage shows the bull, with flammable balls attached to its horns set alight, tossing Fernandez and goring him as onlookers watched from behind railings. The victim, who had travelled from Almansa, was taken to hospital with no visible injuries, but the attack ruptured his spleen and caused other internal injuries, leaving no chance of survival.
The City Council suspended subsequent bullfighting events scheduled for later that day and the following Monday. A minute of silence was held in the town's plaza to honour Fernandez, with officials expressing regret and solidarity to his family.
The festival, known as 'toro embolado' or 'bull with balls', involves setting the bull's horns alight before releasing it into the streets. The practice has faced controversy due to its danger, with several deaths and injuries reported across Spain this year following the return of such events after the COVID-19 pandemic.
