In a city a good 150 kilometers southwest of the Colombian capital Bogotá, a three-story grandstand collapsed during a bullfight on Sunday. The local emergency services are overwhelmed with the high number of victims. The newly elected President Petro calls for an end to such events.
so. / (dpa)
At least six people, including a one-year-old child, died when part of the three-story stands at a bullring in Colombia collapsed. According to a report in the newspaper “El Tiempo”, several hundred people were injured, citing statements by local mayor Luis Fernando Vélez.
At first, the governor of the Tolima department, Jose Ricardo Orozco, reported to Blu Radio that at least four people had died and 60 had been injured. According to him, two women, a man and a child were among the deceased. Many people are said to have been seriously injured. It is therefore feared that the number of victims will continue to rise.
Videos circulating on social media showed how the three-story wooden stands filled with hundreds of people collapsed on one side of the arena in the city of El Espinal, a good 150 kilometers southwest of the capital Bogotá, on Sunday. The cause was initially unclear.
Local MP Iván Ferney Rojas told the newspaper that the city was overwhelmed by the number of people injured. “We need support from ambulances and neighboring hospitals, because many people have not yet received help.”
A bullfighting event called “Corraleja” took place in the arena for the Peter and Paul festival. The newspaper “El Tiempo” also reported that after the incident, a bull escaped from the stadium and spread panic in the city streets.
The newly elected President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, appealed to the local authorities to ban such events. It is not the first time that such an incident has occurred. Governor Orozco announced a corresponding ban on Corralejas – they are dangerous and also cruel to the animals.