Videos captured the moment a bleacher collapsed during a bullfighting event in Colombia, resulting in the deaths of 4 people and injuries to hundreds. The first video, filmed from a drone, shows the bullfighting ring in the city of El Espinal, located in central Colombia, where the incident occurred on Sunday. In the center of the ring, a raging bull was present along with many people who had entered the arena, when suddenly a part of the right side of the bleacher collapsed, causing chaos.
Other footage, recorded from another side of the bleacher, revealed the fully packed four-tiered seating. The video indicates that the collapse of the wooden bleacher happened quickly and unexpectedly, followed by screams of terror from the startling event.
José Ricardo Orosco, the governor of Tolima, told a local radio station after the incident in El Espinal, "There are currently 4 dead: two women, a man, and a child." Regional hospitals reported treating around 322 injured individuals, including 4 in intensive care, as stated by Marta Palacios, Tolima's health official, to AFP.
The incident took place during a local bullfighting event, a popular occasion where the public enters the ring to face calves and young bulls. Luis Fernando Vélez, the director of civil defense in Tolima, mentioned, "We are still waiting to determine how many people remain trapped under the rubble. As you can see from the recorded footage, the affected section was full of people when it collapsed."
Another video clip showed several people attempting to escape from beneath the wooden and steel debris while a bull continued to roam the arena. The accident occurred at the Gilberto Chari arena during San Pedro celebrations, which is the most popular event in the region.
Colombian President Iván Duque stated, "We will demand an investigation, and we stand in solidarity with the victims' families." Orosco warned that he would request the "suspension of all such celebrations," emphasizing that they "harm the lives of animals" and contribute to "their mistreatment."
On the eve of the incident, several people had already been injured by bull attacks during the same celebrations in El Espinal, which has a population of approximately 78,000, located 150 kilometers southwest of Bogotá. Elected President Gustavo Petro tweeted, "I ask municipalities not to allow events that could result in the death of people or animals," recalling the deaths of hundreds at another arena in the city of Sincelejo in the north of the country in 1980.
