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By Mail Foreign Service
Tramplona! A bull falls on a runner during the Pamplona festival, which is a symbol of Spanish culture but has been condemned by animal rights groupsIt may not look like it but the man lying squashed underneath a 1,000lb angry bull has got off lightly.
He was not seriously hurt, but two other men were badly gored during the famous running of the bulls at Spain's famed San Fermin fiesta today.
At least five other people were hospitalised after falling or being trampled by the animals, officials said.
Thousands took part in the dash to keep ahead of six fighting bulls and six bell-tinkling steers tasked with keeping the beasts together along the 930-yard course from a holding pen to the northern town's bullring.
The run lasted just under four minutes and produced panic when some bulls separated from the pack.
A runner is knocked down by a Cebada Gago fighting bull at Estafeta Corner during the second running of the bulls on the third day of the San Fermin festivalOne stopped just before entering the bullring and paced in circles threateningly while staring at the runners.
Television images showed the first runner being gored in the chest and hurled like a rag doll to the cobblestones of one of the narrow streets where the bull run takes place in Pamplona's historical old quarter.
He remained on the ground dazed until he was taken away by rescue workers.
One man sustained serious injuries after being gored in the thorax, while a second man was gored in the left leg but was in better condition, said Fernando Boneta, a doctor at Navarra Hospital.
Crushing feeling: One reveller is squashed to the groun after this steer fell on top of him
Knock out: The runner lies stunned on the ground as the bulls run past during the traditional eight-day eventThe more seriously injured man was a 22-year-old Spaniard, while the other goring victim was a 43-year old man from Dublin, authorities said.
The men were identified only by their initials.
Five more people were hospitalised in Pamplona for less serious injuries, mostly broken bones and bruises sustained in falls as they ran, though the images clearly showed other people being trampled.
They included a 49-year-old American, a 33-year-old Israeli and three Spaniards, the Navarra regional government said.
Thursday's gorings were the first for the series of eight bull runs held during the nine-day street festival that also features around-the-clock drinking that attracts tens of thousands of Spaniards and foreigners.
Cody Harrington, 22, was amazed at the size of the 1,100lb bulls as he ran alongside them for the first time.
Holy cow that's heavy: A leading ox of the Cebada Gago fighting bulls falls on an unlucky runner
A fighting cow leaps over revellers during festivities in the bullring after the second running of the bulls at the San Fermin festival'They were about up to my shoulders, and it was intense,' the university student from Lake Tahoe, California said.
'Once I saw them running right next to me I got to the side and it was shocking how big they were.'
His 62-year-old father ran as well.
'It was a rush, definitely an adrenaline rush, the street is so narrow, you're right next to them and then they're gone like a shooting star,' said Jack Harrington, a dentist on a tour of Europe with his wife, son and two daughters.
An 18-year-old Australian who sustained three fractured vertebrae in the first race Wednesday remained in hospital on Thursday in a serious condition, according to the El Diario de Navarra newspaper.
He was identified by the newspaper as Nicholas Ward of Melbourne. The young man's father, Howard, told the newspaper his son was expected to remain hospitalised for two weeks.
A participant falls in front of Cebada Gago fighting bulls on the second San Fermin Festival bull run
Faces of fear: The festival is a symbol of Spanish culture, despite heavy condemnation from animal rights groups, and attracts thousands of tourists to watch the bull runsAn American was also injured on Wednesday in another event during the San Fermin party in which calves are released into a bullring to be taunted by young men.
The unidentified 22-year-old sustained a ripped scrotum from a horn injury, El Diario de Navarra said.
He received stitches at the bullring from emergency workers and was sent to hospital.
While gorings from the adult bulls with their huge horns are more likely to be fatal or cause serious injuries, the calves are also dangerous because they are more frisky, moving around the ring rapidly.
A spokeswoman for the hospital where the Australian and the American were taken said that no one was immediately available to provide an update on their conditions or more details.
The runs are broadcast live on Spanish television and the bulls that run each morning are killed in the evening in the bullring, their meat served up in Pamplona's restaurants.
Dozens of people are injured in the runs each year. Gorings produce the most dramatic injuries and generate extensive comment and analysis in Spain's media, though most runners who end up hurt fall or are trampled. Last year's festival saw the first fatal goring in nearly 15 years.
Spanish Red Cross personnel carry a reveler after being gored by Cebada Gago ranch fighting bulls 
Oh, that really hurt: A 'mozo,' or runner, is attended to by the Red Cross after being gored by a bull [endtext]