Three people gored by bull during this year’s festival in Pamplona

Two Australians and a Spaniard are gored by a bull after it breaks from pack during the final run of this year’s festival in Pamplona

  • Chocolate-coloured bull called Rabanero broke free from its pack and gored three tourists attending the run 
  • One was gored in the leg and slammed on to the cobbled streets and the two others were gored in the arm 
  • The unlucky runners were rushed to hospital but their goring wounds are reportedly not life threatening 

A bull has gored three runners on the final day of Pamplona’s San Fermin festival after it broke free from the pack it was charging with.

The festival, which draws around one million people each year, has had a total of eight gorings over the course of its eight bull runs this year. 

Chocolate-coloured Rabanero broke free from the group of six bulls it was charging with through the twisted streets and wreaked havoc on passing tourists. 

It gored one man in his leg before flipping him over its horns and slamming him on to the cobbled street.

It then clipped another two runners who were trapped against a wall – goring one in the arm and the other in the armpit. 

A bull has gored three runners on the final day of Pamplona’s San Fermin festival after it broke free from the pack it was charging with

The festival, which draws around 1million people each year, has had a total of eight gorings over the course of its eight bull runs this year

Chocolate-coloured Rabanero broke free from the group of six bulls it was charging with through the twisted streets and wreaked havoc on passing tourists

It gored one man in his leg before flipping him over its horns and slamming him on to the cobbled street and then clipped another two runners who were trapped against a wall – goring one in the arm and the other in the armpit

The runners, two Australians and a Spaniard, were rushed to hospital but their wounds are reportedly not life threatening

The Red Cross reported several other injuries from knocks received from the bulls and steers, or from runners tumbling out of the way

The runners, two Australians and a Spaniard, were rushed to hospital but their wounds are reportedly not life threatening.  

The Red Cross reported several other injuries from knocks received from the bulls and steers, or from runners tumbling out of the way.

The six bulls from the Miura breeder, who celebrated the farm’s record-extending 53rd showing at the festival, completed the 850-metre run to the bull ring in two minutes and 42 seconds. 

They will be killed at the ring later today.

The San Fermin festival was made famous internationally by Ernest Hemingway in his 1926 novel ‘The Sun Also Rises.’ 

Most revellers stay up all night or rise early enough to gape from balconies or barricades as hundreds of runners dressed in the traditional white outfit with a red sash make their mad dash.

Sixteen people have died in the bull runs since 1910. The last death occurred in 2009.

Animal rights protesters have also become a fixture in Pamplona. On the eve of this year’s festival, dozens of semi-naked activists staged a performance simulating speared bulls lying dead on Pamplona’s streets to draw attention to what they see as animal cruelty for the sake of entertainment. 

Bullfights are protected under the Spanish Constitution as part of the country’s cultural heritage.

The Spanish tradition of bull running is believed to have started as early as the 14th century, when men transporting cattle for trade wanted to speed up the process 

This then developed into a competition between the men which later morphed into the bull running that is seen in Pamplona today during the San Fermin festival

The nine-day long festival is held in honour of Saint Fermin – Pamplona’s first bishop who is believed to have died AD 303

A set of wooden fences is erected throughout the streets of Pamplona to guide bulls on their path, while blocking out side streets



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The fences have gaps in them at certain points which are wide enough for a human to slip through but narrow enough to block out a bull

Since records began in 1910, some 16 people have died in the bull run. The majority of deaths are as a result of gorings and the last one was in 2009

The bull run begins with participants singing a prayer for Saint Fermin which roughly translates as: ‘We ask Saint Fermin, as our Patron, to guide us through the encierro (bull run) and give us his blessing’

Most runners wear the traditional outfits which consist of white outfits with a red waistband and necktie because red is the colour matadors wear 

Before the run begins, a shot is fired at 8am which alerts runners that the gates enclosing the bulls have been opened. A second shot then tells runners that the bull have begun to charge  

The bulls charge through the streets of Pamplona until they reach the bullring where they will eventually be killed. It usually takes the bulls two and a half minutes to get to the ring 

Revellers and a fighting bull arrive at the bullring during the running of the bulls at the San Fermin Festival while onlookers cheer 

The bulls that were used in the day’s run are eventually killed in the ring during a bullfighting show that is attended by many locals and tourists  

Animal rights protesters have also become a fixture in Pamplona. On the eve of this year’s festival, dozens of semi-naked activists staged a performance simulating speared bulls lying dead on Pamplona’s streets

The protesters believe the bull run and then the killing of the bulls as unnecessary animal cruelty done purely for the sake of entertainment

Bullfights are protected under the Spanish Constitution as part of the country’s cultural heritage, as that is where the sport originated 

During a traditional bullfight, the fighter will stab the bull with a lance in the neck before stabbing it in the shoulders with barbed sticks

Finally, the matador will use a sword to stab the bull after making it charge after the red cape he holds in his hands  

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