One participant in the bull run at Spain’s San Fermin festival suffered a facial goring, while several others narrowly escaped serious injuries in the chaotic event on Saturday.
The intense run featured six bulls and accompanying steers charging through the streets packed with enthusiastic spectators in Pamplona. The massive animals caused chaos, knocking people to the ground and leading to multiple pileups along the 957-yard route from the pen to the bull ring where the bulls would later face bullfighters.
According to the University of Navarra Hospital, one individual was struck in the face by a bull’s horn, and 12 others required medical attention for various injuries sustained during the run.
During the event, a black bull separated from the group early on and collided with a crowd, striking one person in the face with its horn. It remains uncertain if this incident resulted in the goring.
Despite the imminent danger, some runners seemed oblivious to the bulls approaching them, merely pushing them aside instead of attempting to evade potential harm.
This bull run marked the fifth morning of the eight-day festival in northern Spain, coinciding with the centenary of Ernest Hemingway’s novel “The Sun Also Rises,” which significantly raised the profile of the San Fermin festival.
While fatalities during the bull runs have been rare since 2009, injuries such as gorings and broken bones are frequent, partly due to the presence of inexperienced participants and international tourists alongside seasoned local runners.
