A 64-year-old woman has died this Saturday after being struck by a bull during one of the traditional bull runs in Ayna (Albacete), held on the occasion of the local patron saint festivities. The incident occurred around 10:55 a.m. and also left another man in his 60s injured.
According to the mayor of Ayna, Juan Ángel Martínez, the woman was in the area known as Las Cuevas when, at one point during the route, she stood still next to the barrier and then began to run. One of the bulls ended up reaching her and charging at her. Images shared by attendees show the victim outside the barriers and running against the advance of the herd.
She died while being transferred to the helipad
Emergency services received the alert at 10:55 a.m. and urgently attended to the woman on the route itself. In addition to the preventive medical device planned for the celebration, a medicalized helicopter and Civil Guard personnel were mobilized. Despite the attempts by the medical staff to stabilize her, the woman died while being transferred to the helipad.
The victim was from Catalonia and was spending a few days in Ayna with family, according to the mayor. The woman was participating in the first of the bull runs scheduled during these days as part of the municipality's patron saint festivities.
Another man injured by bull's horn
The bull run also left a second injured person, a man in his 60s, who suffered a horn injury to his arm. He was in a different part of the route when he was struck by another of the bulls, according to information provided by the City Council.
The bull runs are part of the patron saint festivities of Ayna, which are celebrated these days in honor of Santa María de lo Alto and whose program was initially scheduled to last until next Tuesday, September 8. The City Council had organized bullfighting events over several days of the celebrations.
Ayna suspends the events of this Saturday
After the death was announced, the City Council decided to suspend all festive events planned for this Saturday as a consequence of the tragedy. The mayor has publicly lamented the woman's death and confirmed the cancellation of the day's programming.
The accident has thus marked the beginning of one of the central moments of the festivities of Ayna, a locality of the Sierra del Segura where the encierros are part of the traditional programming. The death of the 64-year-old woman and the injuries suffered by the second participant have led the municipality to interrupt the celebrations while the exact circumstances of what happened are clarified.