Why oh why does Spain continue to honour their patron Saints with bullfighting events?!
A woman in Beniarbeig died Thursday afternoon after coming into contact with a bull’s horn whilst running a bull. The dramatic incident happened during the bull run. Immediately afterwards, all festivities were suspended.
While the animal was still in the arena, it charged the woman without giving her time to react.
The 73-year-old woman is the seventh fatality of the year. Furthermore, that number is equal to the total number of deaths in all of 2015. This year is the most dramatic year since then. The victim had French nationality but was a resident of Dénia. The French woman died on the spot after the bull pierced its horn into her chest.
Beniarbeig celebrated its annual celebrations on the occasion of San Roque and the events started last Friday. However, from Sunday onwards there were also activities with bulls, including this bull run (Bous al Carrer).
The president of the Federation of Bous al Carrer in the Valencian Community, Germán Zaragozá, warned earlier in Las Provincias that a higher number of events would also lead to more incidents and thus more deaths.
Yesterday, 25th August, Beniarbeig City Council officially declared mourning for the recent death of the woman gored during the bullfighting events that same morning during the town’s patron saint festivities.
For 24 hours the flags of the municipal buildings flew at half-mast as a sign of mourning for her death.
The official municipal decree states that all acts of the patron saint festivities in honour of Sant Roc would be suspended. Similarly, the rest of the bullfighting program until the end of the celebrations has also been suspended.
The bullfighting organisation decided to return the bull to the stable, since moments before it had injured another person, although without serious damage!!
Seventh fatality in Valencia this year
The woman is the seventh fatality recorded in the Valencia region this summer as a result of bull festivities and the third since last weekend. Then a young man died in the bullfights of Vallada (Valencia) and another man in Almedíjar (Castellón). In addition, she is the second fatality during this type of celebration in the Marina Alta region, since a 64-year-old man from Pedreguer lost his life after being hospitalised for nine days in Dénia after coming into contact with a bull during the running of the bulls.
Cover Photo: La Marina Alta
