ARCHIVED - French tourist gored during Alicante bull run dies after 9 days in a coma

The 64-year-old man was thrown into the air and trampled on during a bull run fiesta in Pedregeur, Alicante province

A  French tourist who spent nine days in a coma after being gored by a bull during Pedregeur fiestas has died.

64-year-old Pierre, who had arrived in the Marina Alta area 15 days earlier,  was charged and thrown into the air during the traditional festival on July 9.

He was standing next to a safety barrier having left a bar when a bull hooked him by the leg and hurled him. The deceased suffered a severe head injury as he landed before being trampled over by the animal.

According to witnesses, the father-of-three was not taking part in the bull run and didn't realise that the bull was hurtling towards him when he was struck.

Also read: Animal rights groups demand an end to brutal Denia bull run festival

The seriously injured tourist was taken to Denia Hospital where he remained in a coma in ICU for nine days. He passed away on Monday July 18 surrounded by family who had travelled from France after being contacted by management at La Xara hostel where the French man had been staying.

A 17 year old boy from Albaida was gored in the leg during last Sunday's 'bous al carrer' fiesta and is in hospital in a "stable condition".

Pierre is the third person to die in the Pedregeur bull runs in the last seven years.

In 2015, a 44-year-old French tourist was fatally wounded while filming the event on a mobile phone. And the following year, a man, 29, from Almoines died when a bull gored him in the stomach and punctured his lung.

Now read: 11-month-old baby girl attacked by bull terrier at a Costa Blanca bar

Image: Alicante Vivo