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Topics: Animals, World News, Social Media, Twitter
Britt Jones
Bullfighting is a practice which requires a person to anticipate the animal’s movements, but that can be hard to do when you’re thrown in front of it while covering the event.
Those who were watching Quédate on Euskal Telebista were shocked when they witnessed something that could have ended fatally.
The incident, on August 26, saw a reporter being grabbed by a torero and thrown into the path of a raging bull.
Leire Torre was live in the studio as her reporter, Xabier Eguia, spoke of the bullfighting event in Sesma, Spain, to celebrate the patron saint festivities of the Navarrese town for the Virgin of Nievas.
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The reporter was standing in the thick of the ring as men in red t-shirts distracted the bull, and a man with a giant red flag antagonised the charging animal.
He explained to ETB2 viewers from his safe area of the circle: "We are playing English hide-and-seek, but with the heifer.”
Acknowledging that the bull was charging close to him, he explained to those at home: “I was almost caught [...] You have to be very careful.”
At the time, he was interviewing a Sesma citizen, until another participant in the professional event approached him from behind and blindsided him.
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The man in red wrapped his arms around the reporter, grabbing him and leading him deeper into the ring and in front of the angry bull.
The animal was primed and ready, and almost as soon as the man released the reporter, the bull charged at him and struck him in the middle of his body, sending Eguia flying to the ground.
Of course, bulls aren’t usually ones to stop there, and so it charged again at him on the dirt.
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Thankfully, he was able to get up in time and dodge the bull, as many men rallied around him to drag him back to safety and to distract the bull further with the red flag and shirts.
Torre was left shocked by the impact of the bull and immediately asked her counterpart as soon as she realised he wasn’t harmed: "Oh, Xabier! Are you ok? Tell me, please, that you are alright. I don't see or hear him, I'm very worried.”
As soon as he was safely back to where he had been reporting, beside the man who dragged him into the danger, he seemed to be more than grateful for his life.
The reporter spread his arms out beside him and walked back to the middle of the ring, as if he was showing everyone how he came back from a near-death experience, to a warm standing ovation.
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"He's brave, you leave me speechless. There's the heifer who doesn't even know what to do, and neither do I. I need you to tell me that you are fine," said Torre, as her colleague was quickly returning with the cameraman.
"We have played enough English hide-and-seek in Sesma, this is brutal!" the reporter declared. "I risked my neck.”
Online, the video has caused division, with many angered at the red-shirted man for putting the reporter in harm's way.
Others were complimentary of how he handled himself in such a scary situation.
One wrote: “imagine the payout from the lawsuit.”
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Another said: “That guy needs to be sued.”
Someone else chimed in: “Bro turned into a human shield.”