At least four people were killed and about 30 seriously injured after part of a stadium in El Espinal in Colombia’s western state of Tolima collapsed during a bullfight Sunday, the state’s governor said.
“At this moment, we have four (dead) victims confirmed — two women, an adult man and a minor — plus about 30 people seriously injured. Of course, we have activated all the hospitals and ambulances we can work with,” Gov. Ricardo Orozco said on BluRadio Colombia, a local radio outlet.
Video posted by Colombia’s President-elect Gustavo Petro shows a stand full of spectators collapsing as people run from the area.
The mayor of Espinal, Juan Carlos Tamayo, confirmed the accident in a Facebook post Sunday, calling on citizens to evacuate the area.
“We deeply regret what happened in our bullfight arena,” Tamayo said in the statement. “I want to ask all the citizens who are in the area to please evacuate, authorities are already responding to the emergency and the injured have been taken to hospitals. Please, let’s evacuate, together let’s help the emergency services so they can do their job.”
No official cause of the collapse has been given, but Tamayo said in his statement that authorities “have already begun investigating the causes of what happened.”
