Ivan Fandiño, an experienced bullfighter, was performing at the Aire-sur-l’Adour bullfighting festival in the southwest of France when the fatal accident happened.
The 36-year-old was rushed to a hospital after being gored in the arena. Sadly, he didn’t make it. His chilling final words would later be shared with the public.
On the day he was fatally injured, he had already participated in another event earlier.
According to reports, the matador’s feet became tangled in his cape, causing him to fall. That’s when the bull, weighing half a tonne, charged and gored him.
Photos taken at the scene showed him conscious but bleeding heavily as he was carried out of the ring.
French outlets later confirmed that he passed away from a heart attack while being transported to the hospital.
Juan del Alamo, a fellow matador who went on to kill the bull that gored him, said at the time: “I can’t believe it. None of us understand how it could have happened; it was all so fast. The bull knocked him down with its hindquarters and he fell face down.”
Fandiño had been injured in the ring before. In 2015, he was tossed into the air by a bull during a fight in Pamplona. And the year before that, he suffered a more serious injury when he was knocked unconscious in Bayonne, France.
Following his death, Fandiño received tributes from high places including from Spain’s royal family and its prime minister. King Felipe posted a message honoring him as a “great bullfighter figure.”
His death came almost a year after another Spanish matador, Victor Barrio, became the first to die in the ring in Spain in three decades. Barrio’s death was broadcast live on TV.
In Spain, calls to outlaw the tradition have also been made. However, bullfighting remains legal there, with many viewing it as an important piece of the country’s cultural identity.
