2 injured in annual Pamplona bull run
July 7, 1997
Web posted at: 1:59 p.m. EDT (1759 GMT)PAMPLONA, Spain (CNN) -- A Spaniard was gored in the thigh and an English visitor was injured in a fall Monday in the first bull run of the annual San Fermin festival.
Hundreds of people sprinted down Pamplona's cobblestone streets, dodging the six bulls as they were released from the corral.
Juan Jesus Larraya Camino, a 31-year-old Pamplona native, was in serious condition at Navarra Hospital after a bull's horn left him with a 10-inch gash in his right leg.
Paul Fleming, 25, of London, was treated and released for a neck injury, apparently suffered during a pile-up of the mainly young runners.
Watch the running of the bulls in Pamplona:
828K/18 sec. QuickTime movie
The festival opened Sunday with the firing of a rocket signaling thousands of revelers to uncork champagne bottles and begin nine days of celebration, highlighted by the bull run each morning.
The running of the bulls originated in 1591, when daredevils began running alongside the animals when they were being driven through the town to a bullfight. The bulls are fought by professional matadors later in the day.
Tens of thousands of tourists from several continents now converge on the celebration of Pamplona's patron saint, San Fermin. Ernest Hemingway wrote about the running of the bulls in his novel, "The Sun Also Rises."
At least 13 people have been killed in bull runs over the years, the latest a 22-year-old American who was gored to death in 1995.
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
- Sanfermines de Pamplona '96 - festival which includes the running of the bulls, the formal corridas de toros (and much partying).
- Pamplona's Running of the Bulls Online - photographs, voice and video from July 7th, 1995
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
Sound off on our message boards
Tell us what you think!
You said it...
© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.