At Least 6 Dead, Hundreds More Injured After Stands Collapse at a Colombian Bullfight Event

Nicholas Rice
·2 min read
At Least 6 Dead, Hundreds More Injured After Stands Collapse at a Colombian Bullfight Event

At least six people are dead and hundreds more have been injured after stands collapsed at a bullfight in Colombia over the weekend.

On Sunday, attendees were watching the event in El Espinal — a city about 100 miles southwest of the country's capital of Bogota — when part of the stands collapsed, ABC News reported citing the Tolima Civil Defense.

Alongside the six individuals who lost their lives, hundreds more were also injured. 10 of those are in serious condition, the Tolima Civil Defense said, per the outlet. CNN reported that hospitals in the area received 322 patients who were injured, citing Tolima Health Secretary Martha Palacios.

Tolima provincial governor Jose Ricardo Orozco initially reported four deaths ("two women, a man and a minor") to local Blu Radio, per Reuters.

Authorities did not say what caused the arena to collapse, according to the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo.

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Aerial view of the collapsed grandstand in a bullring in the Colombian municipality of El Espinal, southwest of Bogotá
Aerial view of the collapsed grandstand in a bullring in the Colombian municipality of El Espinal, southwest of Bogotá

SAMUEL ANTONIO GALINDO CAMPOS/AFP via Getty Images

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The mayor of Espinal, Juan Carlos Tamayo, confirmed the accident in a Facebook post, where he urged citizens to evacuate the area.

In this image taken from video, spectators are sent plunging to the ground as part of a wooden stand collapses during a bullfight, at a stadium in the city of El Espinal in Tolima state, central Colombia
In this image taken from video, spectators are sent plunging to the ground as part of a wooden stand collapses during a bullfight, at a stadium in the city of El Espinal in Tolima state, central Colombia

Uncredited/AP/Shutterstock

"We deeply regret what happened in our bullfight arena," Tamayo said. "I want to ask all the citizens who are in the area to please evacuate, authorities are already responding to the emergency and the injured have been taken to hospitals."

"Please, let's evacuate, together let's help the emergency services, so they can do their job," he added.

In this image taken from video, spectators are sent plunging to the ground as part of a wooden stand collapses during a bullfight, at a stadium in the city of El Espinal in Tolima state, central Colombia
In this image taken from video, spectators are sent plunging to the ground as part of a wooden stand collapses during a bullfight, at a stadium in the city of El Espinal in Tolima state, central Colombia

Uncredited/AP/Shutterstock

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Iván Duque, President of Colombia, called for an investigation into the incident in a message shared on social media.

"We lament the terrible tragedy registered in El Espinal, Tolima, during the festivals of San Pedro and San Juan, with the collapse of the stands during a corraleja," he tweeted, referring to the event where the public is invited to engage the bulls in the ring. "We will call for an investigation."

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