Bulle knocks a man down with a lightning kick to the jaw during the Portuguese festival after another reveler poked the animal with a long stick
- At a Portuguese festival, a bull smacked a reveler in the face with its hooves
- Another man had hit it with a stick and the animal was thrashing about
- The 30-year-old was later rushed to hospital and is in serious condition at the hospital
A half-ton bull knocked a man to the ground with a brutal kick in the jaw at a Portuguese festival.
The animal flapped its hind paws when he approached from behind to pat its behind after it was released onto the street at the annual festival.
Footage showed it slamming its hooves into the reveler’s face as it reacted angrily to being poked in the back with a long stick by a second man wearing a black and red striped top.
A half-ton bull knocked a man to the ground with a brutal kick in the jaw at a Portuguese festival
The bull was standing on one of the rungs of the pen it had been herded into so that it could be safely removed from the area.
It happened so quickly that it took many in the group around them several seconds to realize what had happened, including the worker who banged his stick against it.
Amazingly, the 30-year-old, who was punched in the face, managed to get to his feet – although local reports said he later became unwell and was taken to a Lisbon hospital for his injuries.
His condition was considered serious today, although there has been no news for the past 24 hours.
The bull was standing on one of the rungs of the pen it had been herded into so that it could be safely removed from the area
The drama happened around 9pm on Monday evening in the village of Reguengo, a two and a half hour drive east of the Portuguese capital.
Bulls are let loose on the streets and taunted by revelers who try to avoid them as part of an annual festival held there every September.
Local reports said the animal was removed from the area at this time.
Firefighters are said to have been among the first rescuers to help the injured man, who is believed to have been taken to nearby Portalegre Hospital before being transferred to a second unidentified hospital in Lisbon.
The annual celebrations in Reguengo, which began Monday, are expected to continue through Sunday.
Several people have been killed at bull festivals in neighboring Spain this year.
Footage showed it slamming its hooves into the reveler’s face as it reacted angrily at being poked in the back
Amazingly, the 30-year-old, who was slapped in the face, managed to get to his feet – although local reports said he later felt unwell
Three of the victims died within just 24 hours in July.
On July 20, a 56-year-old man died in hospital after being rushed to intensive care with head injuries and blood injuries at an event in Picassent, near the east coast city of Valencia, a week earlier.
The local town hall said at the time it had ordered a day of mourning after learning of the man’s death.
The day before, Josep Antoni Garcia Arnau, 50, died at another hospital in Valencia from injuries he sustained after being knocked over by a bull at a festival in Meliana, a 40-minute drive north of Picassent.
He was diagnosed with seven broken ribs and one of the blows he suffered was said to have entered one of his lungs and caused a pool of blood that eventually took his life.
Around the same time, a 64-year-old French man was confirmed to have died in hospital nine days after being impaled during an annual festival in Pedreguer on the Costa Blanca, half an hour’s drive from Moraira.
All three men had attended annual events known locally as Bous Al Carrer, which literally means cops on the street.
