"1 person gored, 6 hurt in running of the bulls" July 08, 2011|Alvaro Barrientos, Associated Press
An Australian man was gored in the leg and six other people were injured Friday as daredevils ran with fighting bulls at the San Fermin festival in Pamploma....
The Australian who was gored had taunted a brown bull from close up in the bullring that marks the end of the sprint. The man waved his arms at the 1,200-pound bull, then slipped and fell and was attacked....
One could say he deserved it.
The brown bull that attacked at the end had separated from the pack about halfway through the run — among the most dangerous things that can happen at San Fermin. A bull that is isolated can get disoriented and nervous and even start running the wrong way.
When bulls finish the run by trotting into the ring, runners are supposed to keep clear and let handlers with capes or long, thin sticks guide animals into stalls, as crowds in the stands cheer. But the Australian man committed the San Fermin faux pas of getting up close to the bull and teasing it in a flashy way by waving his arms.
Another of the injured was a man who fell to the ground early in the run and saw virtually the entire pack of bulls and steers run over him.
The festival has six more runs to go. The Saturday and Sunday ones are usually the most dangerous because the crowd of runners that come from around the world swells with thrill-seekers who come into town just for the weekend.
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