PAMPLONA, Spain — The celebrated San Fermin festival in Spain drew to a close Tuesday, ending with two people suffering goring injuries during the eighth and final bull run of the event.
An 18-year-old Pamplona resident was pierced in the thigh at the course’s first turn, where a bull charged into a cluster of runners — knocking two men onto the cobblestone street and tossing a third over its horns.
A second victim, a 46-year-old man from central Spain, was struck by a horn in the chest area during the final stretch of the course, where the path narrows as it leads into the bull ring. The bulls are later killed by matadors inside the ring later that same day.
Both injured men were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. Eight additional runners also required medical care for less serious injuries, among them an 86-year-old man from Britain.
The six fighting bulls and the steers that accompany them typically complete the 875-meter (957-yard) course — from the starting pen to the bull ring — in just two and a half minutes. That rapid pace frequently catches runners off guard, particularly given that more than a thousand participants are packed into the narrow, winding street route.
The most recent fatality at a San Fermin bull run took place in 2009. Gorings and broken bones remain common occurrences, due in part to the large number of inexperienced runners and international tourists who join seasoned locals on the course. Many injuries result not from the bulls themselves, but from falls triggered by panicking runners.
This year’s festival carries added historical significance, marking 100 years since the publication of Ernest Hemingway’s novel “The Sun Also Rises,” the book widely credited with bringing the San Fermin festival to the world’s attention.
