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| Photo Credit: AP. |
San Fermin festival has organized the first Bull Run in three years in the Spanish city of Pamplona on Thursday. No one was gored but several runners took knocks and hard falls as tens of thousands of people gathered to observe the return of one of Europe’s most famous traditional events, The Associated Press reports.
Six bulls
guided by six fame oxen charged through Pamplona’s streets for around two
minutes and 35 seconds without provoking casualties among thousands of
observers and participants cramming the course, according to The Associated
Press.
The Pamplona
hospital reportedly said six people were brought in for treatment for minor
injuries
The first Bull
Run since 2019 saw several runners stomped, trampled or shoved to the
cobblestone pavement during the early morning event. At least two men were smacked
in the head by the animal’s horn.
The
Associate Press reported that eight people were gored during the 2019 festival,
adding that sixteen people have died in bull runs since 1910.
The bulls
that run each morning are later slaughtered in the afternoon by professional
bullfighters, an action condemned by animal rights activists.
The corona
virus pandemic did not allow the Pamplona festivities to take place in 2020 and
2021. Thousands of men and some women participate in the “encierros,” or bull
runs, trying to avoid the massive bulls and oxen that thunder along the narrow,
twisting cobblestone streets of Pamplona’s old quarter, according to The
Associated Press.
The run
takes 3 minutes to complete in a course of 875 meters (956 yards) sprayed with
a substance to help prevent the bulls from slipping on the tight corners.
The city of
Pamplona is agog with the traditional white shirt and pants with red sash and
neckerchief for the festival.