Pamplona Bulls Go Ape
A bull run in Pamplona Tuesday turned more chaotic than usual as bulls charged and tossed several runners, goring at least one in what was the longest of the seven bull runs held so far in the famed San Fermin fiesta.
In a run that saw both bulls and participants slipping and sliding along the 825-yard route, two of the beasts became separated from the pack and had runners and spectators screaming with fear.
One chestnut-colored bull repeatedly tossed three people in the entrance to the bullring, but none was gored. Another bull pinned a Spaniard, Gabriel Ichaso, against a wooden street barrier and gored him in the back of the knee.
Six other runners were treated for light injuries suffered in falls and tramplings during the event, which lasted some eight minutes -- more than double the normal duration.
In the run, held each morning at 8 a.m., hundreds of people attempt to display their bravery and skill by running with a pack of fighting bulls and their accompanying steers as they are herded from a corral to Pamplona's bullring. Matadors in bullfights invariably kill the bulls each day during the festival.
The fiesta, also known for its all-night street parties, dates back hundreds of years, but became internationally famous following its depiction in Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises. It now attracts tens of thousands of foreigners annually.
But overcrowding has made the runs extra dangerous. Since records began to be kept in 1924, 13 runners have been killed and more than 200 injured by the bulls. An American was the last fatality in 1995, the first death since 1980.
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