A retired matador has been gored to death in horrific circumstances ahead of a bullfight in Spain.

Event organiser Lances de Futuro said Ricardo Ortiz, 51, was helping with preparations in the La Malagueta bullring on April 3, in preparation for the annual Corrida Picassiana, when tragedy struck.

“The tragic incident occurred while handling work was being carried out in the corrals, when one of the bulls gave him a severe goring that caused his death,” a Lances de Futuro statement read.

“Businessman José María Garzón and the entire Lances de Futuro team join in the grief of Ricardo Ortiz’s family and the entire Malaga bullfighting community during these difficult times and wish to publicly express their sorrow for this irreparable loss.”

A bullfighter from Malaga, Ortiz started his bullfighting career in the 1990s, following in the footsteps of his father Manuel Ortiz Benitez.

Tribute was paid to Ortiz at the sold out Picasso-themed bullfight when it went ahead as planned the next day.

The opening procession took place without music and once the bullfighters reached the barrier, a prayer call was played, Lances de Futuro said.

While injuries occur often, deaths in the bullring are relatively rare, The New York Times reports.

A 29-year-old matador was killed during a live-televised bullfight in Spain in 2016, after his lung was punctured. And, in 2017, a 36-year-old was fatally gored in a bullfight in France, the first death there in more than 100 years.

In 1985, a Spanish matador was killed by a horn through the heart.

Humane World for Animals claims that every year 180,000 bulls are killed in bullfights around the world, with many more killed in bull fiesta events.

Bullfighting is banned in many countries around the world, however it remains a popular sport in Spain, Portugal and a number of other countries.