Two Americans gored and hospitalized after Pamplona bull run

[sonnymax]

Two Americans gored and hospitalized after Pamplona bull run

Two Americans were gored in Pamplona, Spain, on Sunday during the annual Running of the Bulls festival — one of whom is now fighting for his life.

A 46-year-old man from San Francisco is in grave condition after being gored in the neck by a bull, according to local authorities.

The other American victim is a 23 year-old man from Kentucky. He's recovering from an injury deemed “less serious,” after a bull’s horn pieced his thigh, according to authorities

Every year, Pamplona holds its annual event, famous for scenes of people sprinting through the city’s ancient streets chased by bulls.

Two days into the festival, officials were already reporting injuries. On Sunday, Spanish authorities announced six people had been taken to a local hospital after the bull run, including the two Americans.

 

Edited July 9, 2019 by sonnymax

[T.D.]

Doesn't this happen every year (or very nearly so)?

I always assumed the risk is part of the reason for daring to make the run.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_of_the_bulls

"Overall, since record-keeping began in 1910, 15 people have been killed in the bull running of Pamplona, most of them due to being gored."

Year	Name	Age	Origin	Location	Cause of death
1924	Esteban Domeño	22	Navarre, Spain	Telefónica	Goring[15]
1927	Santiago Zufía	34	Navarre, Spain	Bullring	Goring[15]
1935	Gonzalo Bustinduy	29	San Luis Potosí, Mexico	Bullring	Goring[15]
1947	Casimiro Heredia	37	Navarre, Spain	Estafeta	Goring[15]
1947	Julián Zabalza	23	Navarre, Spain	Bullring	Goring[15]
1961	Vicente Urrizola	32	Navarre, Spain	Santo Domingo	Goring[15]
1969	Hilario Pardo	45	Navarre, Spain	Santo Domingo	Goring[15]
1974	Juan Ignacio Eraso	18	Navarre, Spain	Telefónica	Goring[15]
1975	Gregorio Gorriz	41	Navarre, Spain	Bullring	Goring[15]
1977	José Joaquín Esparza	17	Navarre, Spain	Bullring	Suffocated in a pile-up.[7]
1980	José Antonio Sánchez	26	Navarre, Spain	Town Hall Square	Goring[15]
1980	Vicente Risco	29	Badajoz, Spain	Bullring	hit[15]
1995	Matthew Peter Tassio	22	Glen Ellyn, Illinois, USA	Town Hall Square	Goring[16]
2003	Fermín Etxeberria	62	Navarre, Spain	Mercaderes	Hit by a horn[17]
2009	Daniel Jimeno Romero	27	Alcalá de Henares, Spain	Telefónica	Goring[18][19]

[Big Beat Steve]

Gored? Wouldn't "impaled" be more like it (and more descriptive)?

[Big Beat Steve]

I think the legendary Manolete wasn't a long way away from that if contemporary reports are to be believed.

 

Edited July 9, 2019 by Big Beat Steve

[Brad]

Several Spaniards were also gored. 

The Death Of Manolete by Bartleby Conrad is a good read, for those who may be interested. 

My parents were friends who people who knew bullfighters, who had given them souvenirs of their fights, like an ear or a tail. 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

It always strikes me as odd when people voluntarily risk their lives for something as dumb as this - running with bulls? Why? As a matter of principal, I tend to avoid things that could result in death. I don't swim with piranhas or alligators. I don't run through lightning storms with a metal rod in my hand. Generally, I avoid things where one of the possible outcomes is "death" and this is from someone who drives in Boston rush hour traffic on a daily basis so I know of what I speak. I avoid death nearly every day.

[Brad]

59 minutes ago, bresna said:

It always strikes me as odd when people voluntarily risk their lives for something as dumb as this - running with bulls? Why? As a matter of principal, I tend to avoid things that could result in death. I don't swim with piranhas or alligators. I don't run through lightning storms with a metal rod in my hand. Generally, I avoid things where one of the possible outcomes is "death" and this is from someone who drives in Boston rush hour traffic on a daily basis so I know of what I speak. I avoid death nearly every day.

Blame it on Hemingway. 

[Dmitry]

1 hour ago, bresna said:

 Generally, I avoid things where one of the possible outcomes is "death" and this is from someone who drives in Boston rush hour traffic on a daily basis so I know of what I speak. I avoid death nearly every day.

How do you figure?

Boston consistently has the worst traffic* I've experienced over the years. And I lived and drove in NYC for over a decade. 

*Traffic here indicates very slow. Unless you mean having a heart attack and the paramedics not being able to get to you , how are you u risking your life?

[JSngry]

3 hours ago, bresna said:

 I avoid death nearly every day.

No, you avoid it every day, and will continue to do so until that day you don't. And then, you won't, ever again.

[mjazzg]

Humans have agency and choose to take part. If they are badly injured or die then that's part of the risk assessment they should have made. The bulls however have no choice but are put in an unnatural and probably frightening environment and react accordingly. 

My sympathy is with the animals that are exploited for human "entertainment".

 

[Brad]

38 minutes ago, mjazzg said:

Humans have agency and choose to take part. If they are badly injured or die then that's part of the risk assessment they should have made. The bulls however have no choice but are put in an unnatural and probably frightening environment and react accordingly. 

My sympathy is with the animals that are exploited for human "entertainment".

 

I think it’s a spectacle — I wouldn’t call it a sport — that has outlived its usefulness. However, to a certain extent the Spanish laws limiting it have become bound up in politics. 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

15 hours ago, Dmitry said:

How do you figure?

Boston consistently has the worst traffic* I've experienced over the years. And I lived and drove in NYC for over a decade. 

*Traffic here indicates very slow. Unless you mean having a heart attack and the paramedics not being able to get to you , how are you u risking your life?

Boston rush hour traffic is thick but not slow at all. Brakes here and there but usually you can cruise along nicely. What threatens my life on a regular basis is the distracted driving, usually texting while driving, that has become a huge problem. I've witnessed these idiots (who probably think running with the bulls would be fun) driving down the road with both hands and both eyes glued to their cell phone screen. It's why I gave up my motorcycle.

[Dmitry]

5 hours ago, bresna said:

Boston rush hour traffic is thick but not slow at all. Brakes here and there but usually you can cruise along nicely. What threatens my life on a regular basis is the distracted driving, usually texting while driving, that has become a huge problem. I've witnessed these idiots (who probably think running with the bulls would be fun) driving down the road with both hands and both eyes glued to their cell phone screen. It's why I gave up my motorcycle.

I don't know what's not slow about it. It takes me 1 hr. to get to Boston and 2 hrs. to get back sometimes. 

There were 10 automobile-related deaths in Boston last year. As bad as it sounds, it's not a lot So you are safe!