PAMPLONA Spain (Reuters) - Two men, one of them an American, were gored by bulls on Wednesday as they took part in Pamplona's bull run, a festival where red-scarved participants race through the Spanish town's cobbled streets pursued by the huge animals.
The 32-year-old American, from Chicago, was gored in the thigh, a doctor told Spanish state television. The second man, whose nationality was not immediately known, was aged above 25, the doctor said. He had been gored in the chest and was taken to hospital in a semi-conscious state.
A further three men were taken to hospital with lesser injuries from the chaotic stampede down narrow streets. All the injured were men. Few women take part in the run.
Wednesday's run was the third in the week-long festival made famous by Ernest Hemingway's novel "The Sun Also Rises". The festival features a daily bull run starting at 8 a.m. (2 a.m. EDT) that usually lasts around 3 to 5 minutes.
The festival has become a global tourist attraction, with hundreds pouring into the small town every July. Many participants drink all night before the early morning run. The animals take part in a bull-fight in the afternoon.
A 27-year-old man from Madrid was the last person to be killed during a Pamplona bull run after being gored in the neck in 2009. There have been 14 fatalities over the past century at the fiesta, which dates to the 13th century.
(Reporting By Vincent West, Writing by Sonya Dowsett, Editing by Gareth Jones)