The fatality of Emilio, the swimming teacher in Fuenlabrada who was killed by a bull in the alley

Emilio was an inveterate athlete and a great fan of bullfighting. and if we speak in the past tense it is because Emilio passed away last Saturday in the Fuenlabrada bullring. The event took place in the cutout contest of the Madrid town.

The second bull of the afternoon charged a burladero and made its way through the alley of the plaza. He came around the alley twice before returning to the ring. On his way he met Emilio Benito, a 55-year-old resident of the town. The deceased was a swimming teacher and a great fan of cycling and windsurfing. He had two children and was divorced.

“We are devastated. I’ve been working here for thirty-odd years.”, assures a colleague of his. Fuenlabrada Municipal Sports Board, to which Emilio belonged. “You can ask any of his students, he was a beautiful person.” In the municipal swimming pool of Fuenlabrada a bitter mourning is breathed this Monday.

“I don’t really know why I was there. I think he was a friend of the one who organized the cuts, ”explains another acquaintance, who assures that Emilio was a great lover of bullfighting. In addition to killing Emilio, the bull slightly injured Jose Antonioone of the organizers of the event.

As a result of this event, the Fuenlabrada City Council suspended the remaining bullfights, which were to be finished off with six runs this Sunday. In addition, the town has decreed two days of official mourning. “Only the municipal fair will remain active, which will work without music, in order not to harm the work of third parties, in this case the stallholders who carry out their work in the city’s fairgrounds,” according to the City Council. it’s a statement.

bloodiest year of the century

Emilio’s death makes 2022 the bloodiest year in bullfighting so far this century, tied with 2015 for a total of 12 victims each year. Seven of the victims have lost their lives in the Valencian Community and its famous bous al carrer.

The towns of Pedreguer, Almedíjar, Soneja, Picassent, Meliana, Beniarbeig and Vallada have lived in mourning this summer for these celebrations. Outside the Levantine community, there have also been deaths in Navalcarnero (Madrid), Murcia, La Seca (Valladolid) and, now, also in Fuenlabrada.

These events have brought the viability of these traditions back into the public debate where people are put in danger and animals are mistreated. The controversy has even crossed our borders. media like the BBC, Telegraph, Daily Star, Daily Mail either Los Angeles Times have echoed the deaths caused by the horns of animals. In addition, there have been numerous injuries, including a 12 year old.

Condolences and controversy

The Fuenlabrada City Council has lamented “the tragic accident and has wanted to convey its condolences to both relatives and people close to the deceased person.” For his part, the mayor Javier Ayala (PSOE)has transferred through social networks his “deepest condolences and affection to the family and friends of the worker who died in the bullring”.

Also the PP spokesperson and regional deputy, Noelia Nunez, has lamented death. “My condolences to the family and friends of the operator who has just died in the Fuenlabrada bullring after the bull that has jumped into the alley. All our support. Rest in peace,” he has written on networks.

Along the same lines, the spokespersons for Cs and Podemos, Patricia Frutos and Pedro Vigil, respectively, they have transferred their condolences to the family of the deceased. Meanwhile, the Vox spokeswoman, Isabel Pérez, has asked for “a prayer for a worker, and for his family and friends, who has been killed by a bull that has jumped into the alley of the Plaza de Toros in Fuenlabrada. Very hard. Rest in peace”.

Vigil has announced that his Group will take a motion to the next plenary session to request that bullfighting festivities cease to have municipal funding, an amount of about €300,000 which, according to Podemos, could be used for social purposes in the town.

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