Three Americans and one Canadian were gored by bulls Friday during a chaotic day at Pamplona’s San Fermin festival, officials said.
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Revelers go on the way of the Estafeta street beside Fuente Ymbro fighting bulls as people look on from balconies during the first running of the bulls at the San Fermin Festival, in Pamplona.
A Japanese man and a Spaniard were gored this morning on the third day of the Pamplona bull-running festival – while a man died at a similar event near Alicante.
The deadly goring occurred at about 1am during festivities in the small village of Pedreguera, where the Red Cross said the heifer gored the 29-year-old man through the thorax and abdomen.
Authorities revealed two of five people gored were in a “serious” condition in hospital, including a 58-year-old man from Pamplona and a 73-year-old south African. He was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead an hour later.
The danger was compounded when one of six bulls became separated from the other five and began to attack runners behind it, rather than continuing its headlong chase with its companions.
The run itself was quick and smooth, lasting two minutes 28 seconds, and was spearheaded by a group of four bulls that sped ahead of the rest, splitting the herd in two – which always makes the run more unsafe and exciting, though this time there were no negative consequences. Once the bull gained steam again, he was harassed by runners on his way to the bull ring.
The nine day San Fermin fiesta, made famous by Ernest Hemingway, attracts thousands of foreign tourists each year.
More than 1,000 people took part in the run, which lasted just over four minutes – about one-and-a-half times longer than usual.
It said eight other people had been taken to city hospitals for other injuries suffered in the run, in which more than 1000 people took part.
Ten people, including four Americans, were gored in last year’s festival.
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Over the past century 15 people have died in the event, which dates back hundreds of years, according to a count on the unofficial San Fermin website.
