RETIRED Spanish bullfighter Alberto Alvarez narrowly escaped losing both legs after falling into a feed grinder on his Zaragoza farm.
The 45-year-old matador was working on his farm in Ejea de los Caballeros, where he breeds fighting bulls, when he fell into an industrial feed grinder in a horrific accident that left both of his legs badly injured and caused severe blood loss.
Alvarez was airlifted to Miguel Servet University Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery with doctors warning that one of his legs might need to be amputated.
Surgeons were able to save both of Alvarez’s legs following a successful operation.
However, the bullfighter, who retired from the ring last October, remains in a critical condition in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
His fiance, known only as Veronica, described the harrowing ordeal in an interview with Antena3.
She explained that Alvarez fell into the grinder while cutting twine from a bale of hay.
As soon as the accident happened he called Veronica: “He called me and asked me to help him. I wasn’t there. I called for help. He kept saying ‘Vero, help me.’”
“He managed to get out of the grinder by himself, thinking about our daughter Macarena and using all his strength,” she said.
She also thanked the medical staff at the Zaragoza hospital saying, “They did incredible work. They saved his life and his legs.”
A native of Zaragoza, Alvarez began bullfighting at just 13 and retired to his family farm in October 2025 after a successful career in the ring.
News of the horrific accident has sent shockwaves through Spain’s bullfighting community, which has already been shaken by a series of recent incidents.
In April, 51-year-old former matador Ricardo Ortiz was gored to death while unloading bulls at La Malagueta.
Just weeks later, during Feria de Abril celebrations in Seville, bullfighters Jose Antonio Morante Camacho and Andres Roca Rey were both rushed to hospital after suffering separate injuries in the ring within the space of three days.
Alvarez’s terrifying ordeal has further shaken Spain’s bullfighting community.
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