2 gored in Spanish bull run

Fighting bulls gored two young men Tuesday as the half-tonne beasts tore through the winding streets of Pamplona in Spain's San Fermin festival, officials said. More than a thousand thrill-seekers ran alongside the six bulls and six steers bolting through the streets of the northern city, some daring to get as close as possible to their horns. Eight people were injured, including the two who suffered gorings, in the sixth of eight daily runs of the festival. One bull's horn struck a 40-year-old man from Pamplona in his side and another skewered a 41-year-old daredevil in the right arm, organisers said. Their injuries were not considered to be serious. A 21-year-old Australian suffered a broken nose while his 30-uear-old compatriot dislocated an elbow. Others had head injuries, broken bones, bruises and cuts. The six bulls and six steers with bells around their necks raced 846.6 metres through the cobbled streets from a pen to the bullring in just two minutes 16 seconds, the fastest time of this year's festival. One man tripped and fell just as he entered the bullring and lay motionless on the ground with his face down as the bulls passed around. A firecracker was set off at 8 am when the bulls were released and another was lit to signal that the last animal of the pack had left the corral, setting the crowd of runners on their mad dash ahead of the pack. Before the start of the run many daredevils gathered at the beginning of the route to pray for protection before a small statue of San Fermin -- the patron saint of the region of Navarra of which Pamplona is the capital. Cristina Palomar, a 46-year-old Madrid office worker, watched the bull run with her husband from behind a wooden barrier near the bull ring after promising herself for years that she would come one day. "You see less of the run being here than on television but you feel much more," she said as the crowd started to disperse after the run. Many arrive at the best vantage points along the route hours before the run has begun. Helena Morales said she arrived with her boyfriend at around 5 am to ensure she got a good place near the bullring. "What is one hour less of sleep, this way you don't leave frustrated because you could not see," the 32-year-old from Valencia said, sitting on top of a wooden barrier along the route just before the run got underway. Every year between 200 and 300 participants in the run are injured. Most are hurt after falling but some are trampled or gored by the bulls despite increased safety measures. The last death occurred two years ago when a bull gored a 27-year-old Spaniard to death, piercing his neck, heart and lungs with its horns in front of hordes of tourists. With one litre (33.8 ounce) bottles of beer selling for as little as three euros ($4.30) near the bullring, alcohol is sometimes to blame for accidents, a factor that is closely policed in Pamplona. In the most serious injury so far this year, a 25-year-old Australian man was gored in his right thigh during Friday's bull run after he taunted one of the bulls. He was later said to be improving. A 23-year-old French fireman was also gored, less seriously, on Saturday after he stumbled and fell. Both men remain in hospital and their health is improving, officials said. The city of some 200,000 residents expects the festival, which runs until Thursday, will at least match last year's figure of 1.5 million people turning out and a hotel occupancy rate of over 90 percent.