Three gored in bloody bull run

PAMPLONA: Three men were gored by half-ton bulls as they raced through Spain’s northern city of Pamplona yesterday, the bloodiest run of this year’s celebrated San Fermin festival.

The three runners, a 20-yearold American and two Spaniards, aged 31 and 42, were raced to hospital, regional health officials said. Another three people, including a 48-year-old American, were also taken to hospital with injuries suffered in falls during the sixth bull run of the hugely popular festival.

The bull run turned dangerous when a half-ton black bull, part of the galloping herd of six sharp- horned bulls and six steers, separated from the pack and charged into runners. The lone bull charged the 31-year-old and tossed him around the ground in a 30- second tussle, causing his pants to come off.

The man, from the town of Morella in eastern Spain, desperately clung to one of the bull’s horns, while two runners tried to pull the beast away by the tail.

Two others then grabbed the man by the feet and pulled him away to safety. The runner was gored three times, receiving injuries to the leg and groin.

An isolated bull is more dangerous because it can become disorientated and is more likely to charge. The bull then knocked another runner near the entrance to the bull ring, sending him reeling against the wooden fence that lines the route.

Hundreds of runners, most dressed in white with red kerchiefs, joined in the 848.6m dash through the city’s winding, cobbled streets from a corral to the bull ring. The six bulls from the El Pilar ranch in the province of Salamanca completed the course in four minutes and 57 seconds, the slowest bull-fun so far this year. The animals, which weigh between 510kg and 575kg, will be killed by matadors in an afternoon bullfight.

Fifteen people have been killed in the bull runs since records started in 1911. The most recent death took place four years ago. – Sapa-AFP