San Fermin bull run leaves one person gored in face and 12 injured

San Fermin bull run leaves one person gored in face and 12 injured

A runner was pierced by a horn in the face and 12 other people required medical treatment for various knocks during a chaotic bull run in Pamplona on Saturday, July 11, 2026.

The incident occurred during the fifth morning run of the eight-day San Fermin festival in northern Spain. According to the University of Navarra Hospital, 12 people needed treatment for an assortment of injuries in addition to the individual gored in the face.

Six bulls, weighing 600kg, and accompanying steers charged through narrow streets packed with thrill-seekers. The run from the pen to the bull ring lasts two-and-a-half minutes. During this sprint, the animals knocked people to the cobblestones, and stumbling runners created several pileups. The animals are killed by bullfighters in the ring later in the day.

Witnesses observed a black bull break away from the pack early in the 875-meter (957-yard) run. The animal plowed into a group of people and smacked one runner full in the side of the face with a horn, though it was not clear if this specific moment was when the goring occurred.

Some participants appeared unaware of the animals' proximity. In several instances, bulls were breathing down the necks of runners, but the animals shoved the people out of the way rather than attempting to gore them.

The 2026 festival coincides with the 100th anniversary of the publication of Ernest Hemingway's novel The Sun Also Rises, a work that launched the event to international fame. While the last death during the San Fermin bull runs occurred in 2009, broken bones and gorings remain common. This is attributed in part to the presence of foreign tourists and novice bull runners who participate alongside experienced locals.

The annual event draws thousands of global visitors for the encierros. These runs begin at 8am, with bulls released from their corral to charge along a route through the city's old town. Participants, typically dressed in traditional white outfits and red scarves, attempt to stay as close to the horns as possible without falling.

Beyond the daily runs, the week-long festival includes religious ceremonies, music, parades, and continuous street festivities. This includes the recortador, or bull leaper, who performs in the Plaza de Toros bullring.

The Saturday chaos follows other injuries earlier in the week. On Tuesday, the first proper day of the festival, at least three men were rushed to the hospital. They included a 61-year-old American with a non-serious head injury, a 20-year-old from Segovia with a leg injury, and a 34-year-old from the Basque province of Biscay with an ankle injury. A fifth person received medical attention but did not require hospitalization, and no gore injuries were reported that day.

Images from Friday's fourth run showed runners sprinting through narrow streets and others curling into balls on the cobbles to shield themselves as the bulls thundered past. Recent photographs from Saturday show Red Cross volunteers tending to the injured and a runner being carried away on a stretcher.