Bull skewers man at festival
Sharp-horned fighting bulls have thundered through the slippery, cobbled streets of Pamplona, skewering one daredevil in a fast, adrenaline-charged opening run of Spain’s San Fermin festival.
‘Scary but cool’: participants and onlookers at the Running of the Bulls festival. Photo: Getty
Thousands of white-clad runners with red scarves on Monday opened a path for the five half-tonne charging bulls and six steers, man and beast occasionally falling over on the glistening cobbles of the overcast northern city.
The animals tore along a winding 848.6-metre course in just two minutes and 25 seconds, injuring four runners, all Spaniards, officials said.
One 52-year-old man was gored in the groin area but his injury was not considered serious, the region’s health authorities said. Three other runners, aged 31, 34 and 55, were treated for various unspecified injuries.
“We were standing in the alley way waiting for the bulls to come and everyone started jumping,” said 26-year-old Texan oil company worker Mathew Whitman.
“Then they just came very fast,” he said.
“It was just like a big rush of people that came and pushed us and we were trying to run, and we were pushed against the wall and they went past,” he added.
“Kind of scary yes, but it was very cool.”
A firework launched the first race of the San Fermin festival, a heady nine-day mix of partying and adrenaline-chasing, which draws hundreds of thousands of people from around the world.
Tens of thousands of spectators looked on, many peering from overhanging balconies, as runners fled the charging animals, some daring to touch the sides of the beasts.
Fifteen people have been killed in the bull runs since records started in 1911.