One person was gored in the buttock and another suffered a shoulder injury as the running of the bulls got under way Saturday. Both were evacuated by ambulance, officials said.
The number of revelers swelled this year because the traditional start day, July 7, fell on a weekend. The start of the run, normally at 8 a.m., was delayed by six minutes because police were still clearing the streets of debris and drunken crowds packing the streets after dawn.
Emergency work coordinator Jose Aldaba said injuries "have been relatively light," mostly cuts and bruises.
The bulls, which spend the night in an enclosure just outside the town center, are run daily during the San Fermin Festival to Pamplona`s central bullring.
Injuries are common as the crowds strive to keep ahead of the bulls in narrow streets.
Since records began in 1924, 13 people have been killed. The last fatality, a 22-year-old American, was gored to death in 1995.
Last year a 31-year-old American man, Ray Ducharme, was thrown by a young cow in an event at the bullring following the first run. He underwent a 90-minute operation to reattach two vertebrae.
The San Fermin Festival dates back to the late 16th century but gained worldwide fame in Ernest Hemingway`s 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises."
sections: Accidents, World News |