British holidaymaker almost killed after being gored by bull in Portugal
A British tourist has told how he was almost killed by a raging bull while on holiday in Portugal.
Brian Gage, 57, from Chingford, Essex, was on a three-week holiday with family and friends at a bull-running festival in the town of Moita do Ribatejo when the incident occurred.
He had been eating at a restaurant with three of his friends when they decided to head outside to see the action.
During the event, gates are placed outside of bars and eateries to protect the public. Two of Brian's friends had crossed the street to watch the event, and Mr Gage found himself standing just outside the gate when the bull approached.
According to the Daily Mail and the West Essex Guardian Series, he said: "I walked towards a tree and then the bull appeared directly opposite me. As I climbed the tree a bit, the bull had gone around the tree and stuck his horn through my leg and dragged me down off the tree, at which point, I thought that was it.
"The bull pushed me along the ground and threw me up in the air. It pushed me against a wall and continued to gore me (in the stomach) from left to right and went through my scrotum.
"It gave me five broken ribs, took my arm out of its socket, and resulted in me needing over 300 stitches where it slashed me to pieces."
Mr Gage was actually dragged 200 yards by the bull, before local people stepped in and pulled its tail in a bid to distract it. He was placed on a stretcher and taken to the Sao Jose Hospital in Lisbon where he underwent an initial 10-hour surgery for his horrific injuries.
After four days in intensive care, Mr Gage was transferred to a ward where he spent the next seven weeks.
He is now back in the UK, but is still bed-ridden 10 weeks after the attack.
But he is just happy to be alive, praising the festival-goers and medical staff. He told the West Essex Guardian Series: "Without a doubt, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them. The injuries to my stomach alone were enough to kill me, and there was one guy that literally carried my leg, with all the flesh hanging off, all the way to the ambulance."
Earlier this month, a photographer got a little more than he bargained for as he took pictures during the rodeo section at the 2013 Royal Horse Show in Toronto.
The horrified crowd gasped as the snapper was sent flying by a charging bull.
Back in July, a 16-year-old bull was gored to death at a running of the bulls festival 200 miles south east of Madrid.
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