PAMPLONA, Spain — A runner was gored in the face and many more were fortunate to not be seriously injured during a chaotic bull run at Spain’s San Fermín festival Saturday.
The six bulls and accompanying steers charged through crowds of thrill-seekers who packed the narrow street course in Pamplona. The huge animals knocked down bodies to the cobblestones, and stumbling runners caused several pileups during the 2½-minute run from the pen to the bullring where bullfighters would kill the bulls later in the day.
One runner was pierced by a horn in the face, and 12 other people needed medical treatment for an assortment of knocks, according to the University of Navarra Hospital.
A black bull broke away from the pack early in the 957-yard run and plowed into a group of people, smacking one full in the side of the face with a horn. It was not clear whether that was the moment of the goring.
Many runners appeared unaware when bulls were breathing down their necks and, instead of trying to gore them, just shoved them out of the way.
Saturday’s was the fifth morning run of the eight-day festival in northern Spain.
This year’s festival comes 100 years since the publication of Ernest Hemingway’s novel “The Sun Also Rises,” whose publication launched the San Fermín festival to international fame.
The last death at San Fermín’s bull runs occurred in 2009, but gorings and broken bones are common, partly due to the large number of novice bull runners and foreign tourists who join the experienced locals.
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