Two Spanish men were in serious condition after being gored during the fourth day of the running of the bulls at Pamplona’s San Fermin festival yesterday, officials said. Three others sustained head injuries.
The two gored men were from the southeastern town of Valencia, aged 29 and 34, and were injured in an alleyway leading to the bullring, authorities said. The 34-year-old sustained a neck wound, while the 29-year-old suffered a puncture under the arm and also fractured an ankle.
The three others with head injuries, also Spaniards from Murcia, Madrid and Barcelona, were hospitalized. The latter, aged 36, was under observation and the two others were released.
More than 1,000 participants packed the narrow cobblestoned streets of Pamplona’s old town. The bulls came out strong from the starting gate and completed the 930-yard (850-meter) run within 2 ½ minutes.
Slips and falls, however, were constant by bulls and runners, and some participants were stampeded by the 1,300-pound (590-kilogram) animals on the way to the bullring.
One of the runners, on a fence, was charged head-on by a bull but was still able to clear the running lane by rolling under a railing after falling. Another runner avoided goring but was flipped violently and hit head his head hard against the ground.
Initial medical reports said that there were three head injuries but no gorings. Some participants at yesterday’s bull run wore black armbands in honor of 29-year-old matador Victor Barrio, who was fatally gored Saturday during a bullfight in eastern Spain.
Bull runs are a traditional part of summer festivals across Spain. The nine-day San Fermin fiesta became world famous with Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises” and attracts thousands of foreign tourists.
Ten people, including four Americans, were gored in the San Fermin festival last year. In all, 15 people have died from gorings in the festival since record-keeping began in 1924. AP
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