Spain’s running of the bulls: 6 injured on Day 6 in Pamplona

Author: AP
Published:
Revellers run in front of Fuente Ymbro’s fighting bulls during the running of the bulls at the San Fermin Festival, in Pamplona, northern Spain, Monday, July 10, 2017. Revellers from around the world flock to Pamplona every year to take part in the eight days of the running of the bulls. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

PAMPLONA, Spain (AP) The sixth running of the bulls at this year’s San Fermin festival in northern Spain left six people injured, but no one was gored, officials said.

Five people sustained contusions and one had a head injury, said Jon Arizeta, a doctor at Navarra Hospital.

The run along the 930-yard (850-meter) cobbled-street course in Pamplona to the bullring lasted 2 minutes, 16 seconds, one of the fastest so far this year.

One runner had a close shave when a charging bull hooked a horn under his armpit and knocked him to the ground. There were several pileups as runners crashed into each other in a bid to stay clear of the beasts.

Four Americans and a Spaniard have been gored since the runs started Friday. Most people are injured in falls or by being trampled on by bulls.

In the runs, hundreds of people test their courage and speed by dashing with six fighting bulls without getting gored.

The nine-day fiesta in Pamplona became world famous with Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises.” The city of around 200,000 inhabitants receives up to 1 million visitors, including many foreigners, for the festival.

The bulls face matadors and almost certain death in afternoon bullfights. Bull runs are a traditional part of summer festivals across the country.

Twelve people, including four Americans, were gored at last year’s festival. In all, 15 people have been fatally gored at the festival since record-keeping began in 1924.

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