Five other people also treated for injuries after bull crashes into group of runners at San Fermín festival

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old



An American was gored in the leg and five other runners were injured in the second-last running of the bulls at Pamplona’s San Fermín festival.

One of six bulls crashed into a group of runners close to a fence on Wednesday, goring the American in the thigh and lifting at least two runners in the air with its horns.

The Navarra regional government identified the American as a 39-year-old with the initials MLO, and said his condition was not serious.

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Four Spaniards and another American were also being treated in city hospitals for contusions suffered in the run. The Navarra hospital had initially reported four injured.

More than 1,000 people took part in the morning dash with six fighting bulls and their accompanying steer along a 850-metre street course to the city’s bullring. The bulls then face matadors and almost certain death in afternoon bullfights. The nationally televised run lasted 2 and a half minutes.

The nine-day fiesta, known also for its 24-hour street partying, became world famous with Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises. It attracts thousands of foreign tourists.

Bull runs are a traditional part of summer festivals across Spain. Twelve people, including four Americans, have been gored since this year’s runs started on 7 July. In all, 15 people have died from gorings at the festival since record-keeping began in 1924.