A 57-year-old man was fatally gored by a bull on the streets of Ubrique in Spain’s Cádiz province during an annual festival on Sunday evening, town officials and local witnesses said.
The incident occurred shortly after 6:30 p.m. local time during the 10th edition of the Toro del Gayumbo, when two bulls are released on the town’s streets as part of the event. Witnesses and footage from the scene showed the man attempting to climb metal railings to escape a charging animal before he was knocked off balance, thrown to the ground and gored several times. He was taken to a nearby health centre and pronounced dead; authorities confirmed his death at about 8 p.m. The man has not been officially identified.
Officials said the fatal attack involved the second of two bulls released that day. The first animal ran through the town at about 12:30 p.m., and the second, named Mosquetero, was released at 6:30 p.m. It was Mosquetero that charged the man, witnesses reported. Video shows the man wearing shorts and a T-shirt; his right shoe was knocked off in the initial charge, and he sustained multiple wounds before being moved from the scene.
In a statement, Ubrique’s town hall expressed condolences to the deceased’s family and announced measures of mourning. The municipal government said it would cancel that night’s fireworks display, fly flags at half-mast the following day and observe a day of mourning that coincides with the town’s patron saint celebrations. The statement urged residents and visitors to remain calm and cooperative.
Local residents reacted with a mixture of sorrow and criticism. Isabel Carrasco Romero, a neighbour, said the death could have been prevented and criticised local authorities for allowing the event to continue in its current form, arguing the practice had changed in recent years. "This would have been a preventable death if our council did not promote these kinds of backward events under the guise of tradition," she said.
Authorities have not said whether prosecutions or administrative actions will follow. Local emergency services and festival organisers were involved in immediate response efforts after the attack.
Toro events, in various forms, have a record of serious injuries and occasional fatalities in Spain. In January 2022, a 56-year-old man was killed by a charging heifer at a festival in Puerto Serrano, also in Cádiz province, after being thrown and sustaining severe head injuries. In August 2022, an 18-year-old died in the province of Castellón when a bull with burning balls attached to its horns was set loose during festivities.
The Toro del Gayumbo is part of Ubrique’s annual feria and attracts locals and visitors to its processions and street events. Town hall officials said they hoped the community would show solidarity with the victim’s family and stressed the need for prudence and respect during the remaining events of the feria.
Regional authorities and local police are expected to provide further details as investigations continue into the circumstances of the attack, including safety arrangements for the festival and the sequence of events that led to the man’s death.