Three gored in bloody start to bull run
SPAIN’S San Fermin Festival got off to a bloody start yesterday as three people were gored during the event’s first bull run.
A 23-year-old American was in a serious condition after being gored in his left leg, The Red Cross said.
Another American, 46, suffered a neck wound while a 40-year-old from Spain’s La Rioja province had a leg injury.
Scores more were injured at the annual festival in the northern town of Pamplona.
An 18-year-old from San Sebastian and a 23-year-old from Barcelona were taken to hospital but in all, 53 people required treatment from The Red Cross.
Every year, thousands of runners – dressed head-to-toe in white with brightred neckerchiefs – gather for the world-famous bull run through the medieval town’s narrow streets. Anyone aged over 18 can take part.
This year’s half-a-mile race to
Dangerous... bulls charge through the streets of Pamplona, above and left. Inset, medics treat an injured man and below and right, entertainment in the bullring the town’s bullring lasted two minutes and 41 seconds.
Six bulls, accompanied by some tame bullocks, ran in a pack for most of the course. One stumbled towards the end, causing panic and at least one goring injury as it charged at racers.
The nine-day San Fermin fiesta sees bulls from cattle breeder Puerto de San Lorenzo released to run every morning, then killed in afternoon bullfights.The event attracts around one million tourists to the town every year.
Bullfighting is condemned by animal rights activists who claim the practice is barbaric and should be banned.
On Friday, a number of protesters took to the streets of Pamplona to lie half-naked on the ground with fake spears protruding from their backs.
Injuries at the festival are common, but no one has died since Spaniard Daniel Jimeno Romero was gored in the neck in 2009.