Sickening video shows a bullfighter being gored to death in front of horrified onlookers after he taunted the animal at a festival in Colombia.
Yovanis Márquez, 35, was one of dozens taking part in Saturday’s bullfighting festival in the small town of Fundación in the northern Colombian region of Magdalena when he was killed.
Gruesome footage captures the bull tossing Márquez in the air with its horns.
Márquez charges at the creature as part of the “corraleja,” or bullfighting festival, and tries to leap over it, but doesn’t clear the jump and instead is attacked multiple times by the bull, as witnesses scream.
The video shows him being helped to his feet and led away by spectators, but he later died from his injuries, according to local reports.
“He stood up as if he was fine, but the blood was flowing. It was only a few seconds before he fell to the ground,” one eyewitness told El Tiempo.
Márquez was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival, the outlet reported.
Another video from the same event showed the bullfighter looking around the packed bullring and shouting at spectators as he prepared for his final charge.
“The man passed away yesterday after being gored by an injured bull, in an act of self-defense, during the ‘festivities’ of the municipality,” said Colombian animal rights group Plataforma ALTO, which shared video of the attack on social media.
Corralejas are a popular tradition in parts of Colombia which see bullfighters take part in challenges in front of large crowds.
But the events have come to be seen as increasingly old-fashioned, and as festivals of animal cruelty that also put human lives at risk.
Last year, Colombia’s parliament passed a law banning bullfighting, but the ban won’t come into full effect until 2027.
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