Injured included three Americans hurt after several bulls became separated from pack at San Fermín festival

Six foreigners, including three Americans, were among seven people gored in a second running of the bulls at Pamplona’s San Fermin festival, according to the Navarra regional government.



A 58-year-old Spaniard identified only by the initials FLR, a 73-year-old South African man identified as MHO, and a 48-year-old Canadian with the initials PCO were in serious condition, a statement said.

The regional government said one American, 55 and identified by the initials PGO, and another, aged 23 with the initials WRO, were gored but their injuries were reported to be less serious. A third American, a 46-year-old with the initials JGO, and a 26-year-old Indian, with the initials NSO, were also said to have sustained less serious injuries.

The regional government said nine others were taken to city hospitals for injuries from the run. Several of the six bulls used in the event became separated from the pack moments into the 8am run and began charging people in their way.

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The nine-day fiesta, which first became famous outside Spain thanks to Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises, attracts thousands of foreign tourists. Runners dash with six bulls down a narrow 930-yard (850-metre) course from a holding pen to Pamplona’s bull ring. The bulls later face almost certain death in afternoon bullfights.

One runner, Cindi Campbell, fell as one of the bulls came behind her. One man tried to protect her on the ground while husband, Marshall Campbell, pulled the bull away by the horn.

“This was my first and last time,” said 53-year-old accountant from Cave Creek, Arizona, who sprained her foot. She said she had watched her husband and friend running on Thursday and thought the bulls would just pass her by. The first one did but a second came towards her.

“I’m lucky to be alive,” she told the Associated Press. “I still say I’m glad I did it. Because if I hadn’t done it I would regret it.”

Another bull repeatedly tossed a man before being lured away by other runners.

More than a thousand people took part in the run, which lasted nearly six minutes, more than twice the normal running time. The bulls used weighed 530k-650kg (1,170-1,430lbs).

Bull runs, or encierros as they are called in Spanish, are a traditional part of summer festivals across Spain. Dozens of people are injured in the runs, mostly in falls. Ten people, including four Americans, were gored in the San Fermín festival last year.

In all, 15 people have died from being gored at the festival since record-keeping began in 1924.