Four gored during annual Pamplona bull running

BULLS gored four runners and trampled several others yesterday during the running of the bulls in Pamplona. At least five others suffered light injuries.

Runners in the popular San Fermin festival were knocked off their feet, trampled or pushed against the thick wooden barricades lining the streets.

The bulls run along a 900-yard route through narrow cobblestone streets from a corral to a bullring.

Four people, including two Americans, were admitted to hospitals after being gored. At least five others were treated for cuts and bruises, authorities said.

No one was seriously injured during the festival honouring Pamplona's patron saint.

The bulls one weighing 1,300 pounds charged out of the corral faster yesterday than on preceding days, several going off on their own rather than lumbering along with the pack.

One of the injured was John Doyle, 22, from Georgia, a student at Oxford University, who was gored in the groin. He was undergoing tests and was expected to remain in hospital for at least a day or two.