One serious goring and half dozen injured at fifth day of Sanfermines

The fifth day of the Running of the Bulls at the Sanfermines fiestas in Pamplona was tumultuous, complicated and bloody. There were a total of four gorings, one in the Cuesta de Santo Domingo, another in the Plaza Consistorial and two more – the worst of the morning – on the stretch from the Telefónica building to the bullring. One of the runners suffered a very serious injury in his thigh. The horn of one of the bulls tore through his leg, as he was being flipped up against one of the wooden barriers by the animal.

The bulls from the Escolar stockbreeder took just 2 minutes 20 seconds to arrive in the square, but Saturday’s run was without a doubt the most dangerous – and unusual – of the week so far.

Bull number 34 was the star of an extraordinary scene, stopping after barely having left the pen at the beginning of the route, turning around, and running back through the gate

Bull number 34, Curioso I, a 535 kilo animal, was the star of an extraordinary scene, stopping after barely having left the pen at the beginning of the route, turning around, and running back through the gate.

There was indecision after the run was completed about what to do with the animal, but in the end it was decided that he would be transported to the bullring later on.

There were a lot more runners on the streets of Pamplona compared to the three previous days, which was expected given that today and tomorrow are the only weekend days of this years Sanfermines.

According to early data from the Red Cross and the local hospital, a total of four people were being treated for gorings and a further half dozen for cuts and bruises.

This afternoon, from 6.30pm onward, the bulls that ran the streets on Saturday morning will be fought in the Monumental de Pamplona bullring by Francisco Marco, Luis Antonio Gaspar ‘Paulita’, and Paco Ureña, who will be making his debut in the ring.