Six people, including five foreigners, have been gored in what has been described as a “chaotic” and “dangerous” running of the bulls at the Spanish San Fermin festival in Pamplona.
After a relatively measured first bull run on Thursday, the second running saw many of the six bulls used become separated from the pack moments after it began at 8am on Friday.
Amid the chaos, the rampaging bulls reportedly charged at individual runners. One runner was seen pulling a bull away by the horn to prevent him goring a man and a woman who had fallen to the ground.
Another bull tossed a man in the air before being coaxed away by other runners, according to Spanish media.
The run has been criticised for lasting nearly six minutes, more than double the usual running time.
A government statement said a Spaniard aged 58 and a 73-year-old South African man, identified by the initials MHO, were both in a serious condition after being gored during the run.
The regional government said in a statement that one American, aged 55 and identified by the initials PGO, and another aged 23 with the initials WRO, were gored but their injuries are less serious.
An Indian aged 26, with the initials NSO, was said to have sustained a less serious goring.
A Canadian was also gored in the bull ring just before the end of the run but no details were given in the statement on his condition or identity.
It said eight other people had been taken to city hospitals for other injuries suffered in the run, in which more than 1,000 people took part.
The run was described as “chaotic, dangerous and long” by Spanish newspaper El País. On their official website, event organizers called Friday's run “crazy” and said it was the most dangerous run since 12 July 2007 when seven people were gored, The Local reports.
The nine day San Fermin fiesta, made famous by Ernest Hemingway, attracts thousands of foreign tourists each year. During the bull run, people dash along with six bulls down a narrow 930-yard course from a holding pen to Pamplona’s bull ring. The bulls later face almost certain death in afternoon bullfights.
Ten people were gored in the San Fermin festival last year and 15 people have died from gorings in the festival since record-keeping began in 1924.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
