Spain’s running of the bulls: 6 hurt, no gorings in Pamplona
Jul 12, 2022, 12:32 PM | Updated: Jul 13, 2022, 12:43 am
A calf charges in the bullring after the running of the bulls at the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, northern Spain, Wednesday, July 13, 2022. Revellers from around the world flock to Pamplona every year for nine days of uninterrupted partying in Pamplona's famed running of the bulls festival which was suspended for the past two years because of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
(AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
PAMPLONA, Spain (AP) — Six people were treated for injuries but initial reports said there were no gorings in the seventh running of the bulls at Spain´s San Fermín festival on Wednesday.
There were many hairy moments in the 2-minute dash through the cobblestone streets of Pamplona. Shortly into the race, one bull twice head-butted a runner before tossing him to the ground where he was trampled by other beasts and frantic runners.
In the bull ring, at the end of the run, another runner who had fallen and tried to get to his feet was surprised by a charging bull who butted him into the air.
Four people in all have been gored, none seriously, during the festival’s seven runs bull-runs so far this year. The festival ends Thursday.
In the 8 a.m. runs, hundreds of runners, mostly men, test their mettle to run like mad ahead and alongside six fighting bulls and their guiding steer as they charge along an 875-meter (956-yard) route through Pamplona to the city’s bullring, where later in the day the bulls are killed by professional bullfighters.
Tens of thousands of visitors attend the Pamplona festival, which was immortalized in Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises.” The festival is also popular for its 24-hour partying, street events, and the city’s food.
Eight people were gored in 2019, the last festival before a two-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sixteen people have died in Pamplona’s bull runs since 1910, with the last death in 2009.
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