bullfighter

Victor Barrio, a 29-year-old bullfighter from Segovia was fighting in eastern Spain when the bull he was fighting fatally speared him through the chest.

Barrio’s wife, Raquel Sanz, was in the crowd to see the extremely unfortunate incident.

Barrio was able to get the bull to run past him a couple of times, before the bull turned on him, got him to the ground, and pierced his chest. You couldn’t entirely see the puncture on the broadcast, but as the bull raised its head, Barrio’s upper body came up with it, showing penetration.

*Warning: The video below is graphic. *

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPY5vBPnbGw

According to Daily Mail, Barrio was taken to the hospital unconscious, and doctors were not able to do anything to resuscitate him. The bull had speared him through the chest and into his lung, where he suffered a severed aorta in his chest, with damage around his heart.

According to CBS News, this is the first time that a professional matador has died during a bullfight in Span since Jose Cubero Yiyo in Madrid in 1985.

Bullfighting is certainly something that most would not do, but in Spain, it’s an old tradition. It’s been banned in Catalonia but is legal in every other part of Spain. It’s obviously a very dangerous thing, despite this just being the second death in 30 years of bullfighting in Spain.

Perhaps this could be the thing that gets people thinking of banning it across the country. Despite this being a long-running tradition, so many men are put at risk, and tragedies like this are extremely unfortunate, especially for the loved ones of matadors. Though Bullfighting deaths are rare, injuries are extremely common, and at some point you have to wonder whether the sport is worth it.

But old habits are tough to break, and they’ve been bullfighting in Spain since 1726.

[DailyMail/CBS News]

About Harry Lyles Jr.

Harry Lyles Jr. is an Atlanta-based writer, and a Georgia State University graduate.