Matador's Haunting Last Words After Being Gored By Bull He Tripped In Front Of

A Spanish matador tragically lost his life in 2017 after he stumbled over his own cape during a bullfight.

Ivan Fandiño, an experienced bullfighter, was performing at the Aire-sur-l'Adour bullfighting festival in the southwest of France when the fatal accident happened.

The 36-year-old was rushed to a hospital after being gored in the arena. Sadly, he didn’t make it. His chilling final words would later be shared with the public.

Fandiño, who was originally from Spain’s Basque region, had spent 12 years in the ring and built a reputation for taking on bulls that even other seasoned fighters avoided.

On the day he was fatally injured, he had already participated in another event earlier.

According to reports, the matador’s feet became tangled in his cape, causing him to fall. That’s when the bull, weighing half a tonne, charged and gored him.

He was renowned for facing bulls others deemed too dangerous. DANIEL VELEZ/AFP via Getty Images

The bull's horn punctured several of Fandiño’s vital organs, including his lungs, causing devastating injuries to his torso.

Photos taken at the scene showed him conscious but bleeding heavily as he was carried out of the ring.

French outlets later confirmed that he passed away from a heart attack while being transported to the hospital.

As he was being carried away for treatment, Fandiño’s haunting last words were reportedly: "Hurry up, I'm dying."

Juan del Alamo, a fellow matador who went on to kill the bull that gored him, said at the time: "I can't believe it. None of us understand how it could have happened; it was all so fast. The bull knocked him down with its hindquarters and he fell face down."

Fandiño had been injured in the ring before. In 2015, he was tossed into the air by a bull during a fight in Pamplona. And the year before that, he suffered a more serious injury when he was knocked unconscious in Bayonne, France.

He had been injured before in the controversial 'sport'. LUIS ROBAYO/AFP via Getty Images

Reports noted that Fandiño became the first matador to die in France in nearly 100 years. The French newspaper Sud-Ouest stated that the last recorded matador fatality in the country was Isidoro Mari Fernando, who died in the Béziers arena back in 1921.

Following his death, Fandiño received tributes from high places including from Spain’s royal family and its prime minister. King Felipe posted a message honoring him as a "great bullfighter figure."

His death came almost a year after another Spanish matador, Victor Barrio, became the first to die in the ring in Spain in three decades. Barrio’s death was broadcast live on TV.

Bullfighting continues to spark heated debate. It was officially legalized in France in 2012, despite years of pushback from animal rights advocates who want it banned.

In Spain, calls to outlaw the tradition have also been made. However, bullfighting remains legal there, with many viewing it as an important piece of the country's cultural identity.