Six gored in Pamplona bull run

PAMPLONA, Spain -- Six people were gored, three of them seriously, in the first dash of Pamplona's famous running of the bulls festival.

The injured included a 26-year-old woman from the U.S., a British man of 22 and a local Pamplona man.

Commentators said the bull run was one of the most dangerous runs in recent years as recent rain made the bulls and the runners slither on wet streets.

Veterans of the annual San Fermin festival said the crowds lining the route of the bull run appeared bigger than usual, adding to the risk of injury.

The injured American, named as Jennifer Smith, of New Jersey, was taken to hospital with a deep wound in her thigh as well as head injuries. Her condition was described as very serious.

EXTRA INFORMATION Photo gallery: Running of the bulls

A hospital spokesman said two other runners including Pablo Fuertes Marraco, 25, of Pamplona, were also reported in serious condition from gorings and were undergoing surgery.

An injured Briton, identified as Abriel Mel, suffered a gore wound to his knee and a broken leg but did not need surgery., reports said.

Several others were treated for minor injuries such as broken wrists after falling in the bull run.

Television images showed one man apparently gored in his stomach or chest and being attended by paramedics where he fell.

Another man was seen to be lifted up in the air by a bull that caught him in the leg with one of its horns.

At one point, a bull turned round and charged back towards onlookers trapped against the wooden boards that line the route of the run. No one appeared to be hurt in that incident.

Hundreds of people dressed in white with red scarves traditionally take part in the "encierro," running alongside six prime fighting bulls.

The San Fermin festival is held every year for nine days in July. The bulls set off each morning on an 825-metre (half-mile) stampede from a corral to an outdoor arena where they are killed by matadors later in the day.

The last death in the festival came in 1995, when a 22-year-old man from the U.S. was gored.

Hundreds of thousands of visitors pack into Pamplona for the festival, many of them partying the night away on the streets before the morning run.

The San Fermin fiesta was immortalised in Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises. The fiesta kicked off on Friday, with thousands of locals and tourists participating in the festivities.

Crowds packed into the central square cheering and spraying each other with bottles of sparkling wine.

The running of the bulls tradition dates back to 1591 when the purpose was to move the bulls into the arena. In the 17th century, a few daring spectators jumped in front of the bulls and ran for the first time.