Bulls from La Palmosilla charged along the route during the sixth San Fermín encierro, bringing tense moments to Pamplona. Several runners were struck or knocked down at the Mercaderes curve, on Estafeta Street and in the narrow alley leading to the bullring, while Cruz Roja emergency teams responded to multiple injuries. The run follows the traditional route from the corrals at Santo Domingo through the city’s historic streets to the bullring, where six fighting bulls run alongside steers and a densely packed field of participants.
Local police took control of the streets before the encierro began, clearing the route and putting safety arrangements in place. Even with those measures, the movement of the bulls and the concentration of runners led to chaotic moments. Some participants wore shirts in the colors of the Palestinian flag, adding a visible note of solidarity to the festival atmosphere.
Images of the run captured the runners’ determination and the force of the bulls as they moved through the streets. Volunteers and medical staff assisted the injured, while police maintained order during one of Spain’s best-known celebrations. Goring is only one hazard: falls and crowd pressure can also cause injuries as runners and animals move through narrow sections of the route.
Incidents recur throughout the festival. A previous San Fermín run involving La Palmosilla bulls was reported to have left ten people injured, with several hospitalized and police intervening over safety concerns. More details are available in this detailed account of a recent high-speed encierro. Historical reporting on an earlier sixth run described three runners being gored and three others hospitalized after falls, showing how quickly injuries can occur even when the herd reaches the bullring.
The risks have long been part of public discussion around the encierro. Historical records cited in reporting count 15 deaths in the runs since official records began in 1911. The most recent fatality identified in that reporting involved a 27-year-old Spanish runner gored in the neck, heart and lungs. A mayoral proclamation quoted in the historical coverage stressed that “nobody is obliged to run,” while warning that large crowds can heighten the danger.
San Fermín’s international profile owes much to its cultural reach. Ernest Hemingway’s novel Fiesta helped introduce the festival to readers worldwide. Held each July, the celebration draws participants and spectators from Spain and abroad, attracted by its street festivities and the encierro’s mix of spectacle and risk. The runs take place each morning during the festival and are broadcast to a wide audience; emergency services and police remain basic to managing the route and responding to incidents.
