Three injured on the first day of the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona

The first day of the Running of the Bulls at Sanfermines was quick, with the animals from the Jandilla stockbreeders taking just two minutes and 23 seconds to complete the route through the streets of Pamplona.

Despite the speed, there were moments of great danger, and the Tuesday-morning run left one American seriously injured after he was gored in the chest. Another US runner was caught in the back, while a British national sustained light injuries to his foot.

Runners were caught off guard by Fastuoso, a particularly feisty bull wearing the number 67 tag who quickly took the lead on the right-hand side of the Santo Domingo hill and barreled down the street, knocking people left and right.

Fastuoso continued to have his way throughout the course despite efforts by the trained steer to bring him back in line. As he engaged the Estafeta curve, an enraged Fastuoso hurled a runner against the wall, breaking a water pipe in the process, in a display of violence that not even the older residents could remember from past Sanfermines.

The slippery pavement that had been left behind by the previous night’s partying saw many of the bulls lose their footing, forcing the runners to take evasive action along the route.

The injured runners were taken to the Complejo Hospitalario de Navarra.

This afternoon will see the first bullfights of Sanfermines 2015, and the six Jandilla bulls that ran the streets of the city this morning will take to the ring from 6.30pm onward, in the Monumental in Pamplona.