A reveller cheated death after being mauled by a bull during an annual Spanish festival following three fatal gorings in 24 hours.
The bare-chested man was pinned down for nearly half a minute by the angry animal as its horns came dangerously close to his head and stomach.
Other revellers reacted by running round the bull and waving their arms to try to get its attention and persuade it to charge at them instead.
The animal’s two-legged prisoner eventually managed to free himself from its clutches and jumped into the sea after running to safety looking shaken but otherwise unharmed.
Local reports said he had ended up being taken to hospital for an operation after it emerged he had suffered a gore injury to his groin as well as scratches and bruising, but his life is not thought to be in danger.
The shock incident happened yesterday afternoon (July 21) during an annual event in the Costa Blanca resort of Moraira near Benidorm known as the Bous a la Mar, which literally means Bulls in the Sea.
A temporary bull ring is set up in an enclosed arena by the marina quayside and bulls are let loose with revellers taunting the animals.
They then dive into the water or climb on platforms to avoid being charged and gored.
The day before the scare it emerged three people had died in just 24 hours after being gored by bulls at other festivals in the area.
On Wednesday it was confirmed a 56-year-old man had lost his fight for life in hospital after being rushed to intensive care with head and gore injuries on July 12 from an event in Picassent near the east coast city of Valencia
The local town hall said it had decreed a day of mourning after learning of the man’s death.
On Tuesday, it emerged a 50-year-old man named as Josep Antoni Garcia Arnau had died at another Valencia hospital from injuries he suffered after being up-ended by a bull at a festival in Meliana a 40-minute drive north of Picassent.
He was diagnosed with seven broken ribs and one of the blows he suffered is said to have penetrated one of his lungs causing a build-up of blood which eventually claimed his life.
On Monday, it was confirmed a Frenchman aged 64 had died in hospital nine days after being gored during an annual festival in Pedreguer on the Costa Blanca a half-hour drive from Moraira.
All three men had been taking part in annual events known locally as Bous Al Carrer, which literally means Bulls on the Street.
These events were cancelled at the height of the coronavirus pandemic but the Spanish festival calendar is now back to normal.
The famous San Fermin festival in the northern city of Pamplona, known internationally as the Running of the Bulls, was held for the first time in two years earlier this month.
No-one was killed but several revellers suffered gore injuries along the half-mile course through the old town as they tried to outrun the bulls before they were guided into pens at the back of the bullring.
