Spanish bullfighter Paco Ureña was violently gored through the leg and tossed by a raging bull in front of a stunned crowd at the Las Ventas arena in Madrid.
Shocking footage shows the matador being impaled after gracefully dancing around the animal, dressed in traditional attire. He guides the bull in tight circles, darting out of harm's way as it charges repeatedly.
Suddenly, the performance takes a brutal turn when the bull's horns hook under his right arm and hurl him into the air. Gasps erupt from the crowd as the animal then catches his left leg, lifting him clear off the ground. Ureña is carried for several seconds before crashing back to the sandy arena floor.
Other matadors rush in to intervene, using their capes to cover the animal's eyes, giving Ureña precious moments to escape. In the aftermath, he could be seen hobbling away with a serious wound to his leg, later treated in the bullring's infirmary. According to local media reports, he suffered a 30cm goring.
This is not the first time a matador has been left seriously injured at a bullfight in Spain. In April, Jose Antonio Morante Camacho sustained a very serious injury when the bull's horn perforated his rectum. Dubbed the king of the bullfighters, he was competing at La Maestranza bullring in Seville as part of popular April celebrations.
Camacho attempted a daring manoeuvre but failed to raise his arms in time, leaving him exposed. The bull charged at him, catching him at hip level and driving its horn into his behind. He instantly dropped to the floor as he reached back in agony. Moments later, he was carried out of the ring by fellow bullfighters and rushed to a nearby hospital for emergency surgery. Doctors confirmed he suffered a devastating internal injury.
Earlier in April, a retired bullfighter was gored to death as he prepared for a sold-out show. Ricardo Ortiz, 51, was attacked as he helped handle several raging bulls inside their enclosures ahead of the Corrida Picassiana event at La Malagueta in Malaga. The organising company Lances de Futuro said one of the bulls gave Ortiz a severe goring that caused his death.
