A runner suffered a horn wound to the face, while numerous others narrowly escaped serious injury Saturday during a turbulent bull run at Spain’s San Fermin festival.
Six fighting bulls, accompanied by steers, thundered through Pamplona’s tightly packed streets as crowds of adrenaline-seeking runners filled the narrow route. The powerful animals sent participants crashing onto the cobblestones, and falls among the runners triggered several pileups during the two-and-a-half-minute dash from the corrals to the bullring, where the bulls were scheduled to be killed by bullfighters later in the day.
According to the University of Navarra Hospital, one runner was gored in the face, and 12 other people required medical care for various bruises and impacts.
Early in the 875-meter (957-yard) run, a black bull separated from the herd and barreled into a cluster of runners, striking one person squarely on the side of the face with its horn. It was not immediately known whether that incident caused the reported goring.
Several runners seemed unaware of how close the bulls were behind them, with the animals often pushing people aside rather than attempting to gore them.
Saturday’s event marked the fifth morning bull run of the eight-day celebration in northern Spain.
This year’s festival also coincides with the 100th anniversary of Ernest Hemingway’s novel “The Sun Also Rises,” the book credited with bringing San Fermin global recognition.
The most recent death during San Fermin’s bull runs was in 2009, though gorings and broken bones remain a regular risk, especially with large numbers of first-time runners and foreign visitors joining seasoned local participants.
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