American Gored in San Fermin Bull Run

PAMPLONA, Spain (AP) — An American was gored and five other runners were injured Wednesday in the next-to-last running of the bulls at Pamplona's San Fermin festival, officials said.

One of the six bulls crashed into a group of runners close to a fence, goring Mathew Labin, 39, in the thigh and lifting at least two others in the air with its horns.

The Navarra regional government said Labin's condition was not serious. His passport showed he was born in New Jersey, the hospital said, but it had no information about his current residence.

Four Spaniards were treated in city hospitals for bruises. Navarra Hospital said another American, Jake Ramirez, 53, was treated for an ankle injury and released. It had no details of his residence.

Twelve people, including four Americans, have been gored since the runs started July 7.

More than a thousand people took part in the 8 a.m. (0600 GMT, 2 a.m. EDT) dash with six fighting bulls and their accompanying steer along a 930-yard (850-meter) street course to the city's bull ring. The bulls then face matadors and almost certain death in afternoon bullfights.

The nationally televised run lasted 2½ minutes.

The nine-day fiesta, known also for its 24-hour street partying, became world famous with Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises." It attracts thousands of foreign tourists.

Pamplona's town hall reported that 16 men have been arrested for suspected sex offenses since the festival opened.

Six were arrested for suspected sexual assault, including rape, and 10 for suspected sexual harassment, officials said. Nine foreigners were arrested, including six Frenchmen, a Bolivian, a Pakistani and a Romanian.

Because of complaints in previous years, the city has campaigned this year for a festival "free of sexist aggressions."

Aritz Romeo, town councilor for citizen security, said the number of cases reported was similar to other years and to those in other cities with festivals.

The city government, political parties and feminist and social groups cooperated to hold two major rallies to protest against sexual aggression since the festival began.

____

Giles reported from Madrid.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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