Spectators let out terrified screams when an enraged half-tonne bull launched itself towards the crowd at a Spanish arena.
The six-year-old animal, Malacara, had been provoked by matadors when it suddenly charged at one of the performers.
As the matador pressed himself against the wooden barrier, the bull swerved left and cleared the safety fence.
Video captured the 508kg bull hurtling towards horrified spectators in the front row, including a person recording the incident.
The crowd escaped injury only because a concrete wall stood in front of the seats at the Plaza de Toros de Murcia in Murcia, Spain, on September 20.
Juan Perez, a shocked visitor seated several rows back, said: ‘I saw it with my own eyes, the bull jumping over the fence into the crowd.
‘The animal was out-of-control. It was extremely lucky that nobody was injured. There were women in those seats and they were close to being gored by the bull’s horns.’
The footage shows the bull racing along the edge of the ring after landing among the spectators.
The animal was then guided back onto the sand so the bout could continue before it was killed, in accordance with local tradition.
An official said: ‘The bullfighter, Duarte Fernandes, used a killing lance, the rejon de muerte, before a verduguillo, a short sword, was used to deliver the final blow. This was needed to finish the bull.
A half-tonne bull sent spectators screaming when it leapt towards the crowd at a Spanish arena
Six-year-old Malacara charged at a matador after being goaded by performers
The bull swerved around the cowering matador and cleared the wooden safety barrier
The 508kg animal flew towards front-row spectators, including one person filming the chaos
‘The crowd cheered for the bullfighter to be awarded an ear, which the presiding judge refused, so Fernandes received an ovation instead.’
According to the plaza’s official report, Malacara was the sixth and final bull of the afternoon during a mounted bullfight that brought the Murcia Bullfighting Fair to a close.
Officials added that the bull had already jumped twice into the exit alley during the same event.
Malacara came from the Los Espartales ranch and had been assigned to Duarte Fernandes, a Portuguese mounted bullfighter known as a rejoneador.
The dramatic incident was not the first recent occasion on which a bull has leapt into a spectators’ area.
In July, four spectators suffered serious injuries when a raging bull jumped into the crowd during a bullfight at a festival in Colombia.
The rampage took place at a ‘Corraleja’ event, a traditional bull festival where the animal is released into the ring and members of the public can dangerously tease it.
Video footage showed the bull seconds after it was released chasing people in the ring before it jumped over a tall red fence and into a large crowd.
Cheers of excitement quickly turned into screams of panic as people fled the stands, with some even jumping into the ring to escape.
One woman was hit and trampled by the bull as she tried to run away around the stand.
A fearless man then grabbed the bull by the tail, allowing others to quickly escape.
Bizarrely, as the carnage unfolds, a matador calmly walks across the bullring brandishing his red cape in an apparent attempt to get the bull’s attention.
