Minor injuries in last of this year's Pamplona bull runs

Six massive fighting bulls hurtled down narrow cobblestone streets alongside thousands of thrill-seeking runners on Saturday, the final day of this year's running of the bulls festival in Pamplona. Several people suffered minor injuries.

Three runners had to be stabilized by medical services on the route after being hit by bulls and were taken to hospitals on stretchers, said Navarra Hospital spokesman Inaki Santiago.

One runner was gored in the buttock and at least two others were struck by bulls.

Though relatively quick at two minutes, 50 seconds, the run was complicated because two of the bulls became separated from the front runners and galloped several meters behind the leaders.

One runner was caught and lofted in the air. Another was caught by the tail-end bulls and just managed to curl up under their hooves.

The bulls, from breeder Victoriano Martin, weighed in at between 510 kilograms (1,124 pounds) and 610 kilograms (1,345 pounds).

Ricardo Brufau Giner, 21, from Barcelona, was taken for surgery following a goring. Fernando Garayoa Platero, 52, of Pamplona, was recovering from a skull injury and an unnamed 30-year-old Spaniard was recovering from abdominal bruising, the local government said.

On Thursday, Lawrence and Michael Lenahan, American brothers from Westlake, Ohio, were gored simultaneously in an accident-filled run that injured 11 other people. It was the worst day for injuries in the nine-day San Fermin festival.

One particularly blood-chilling incident happened as a bull's horn tore through the shin of Norwegian Christopher Neiff, 24, sliding under the skin and right up to his knee.

The festival in this northern town, renowned for its all-night wine- and sangria-fueled street parties, dates back to the late 16th century.

It gained worldwide fame in Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises."

Since record-keeping began in 1924, 13 people have been killed during the runs, most recently in 1995.