Three dead in Spain from running of the bulls festival

Bull Festival

Three dead in Spain from running of the bulls festival.

Three men have died within 24 hours of injuries sustained during bull-running festivals in eastern Spain.

They had all taken part in the traditional (running of the bulls) festival of the Valencia region, when bulls are released through towns, and often people run in front of them.

Animal rights groups have long complained about the dangers they pose to both the public and the animals.

They say 20 people have died in the region in the last eight years.

All three men who died had been seriously injured in the past two weeks.

In one of the incidents, in Picassent, south of the city of Valencia, a 56-year-old man who had been standing behind a block in the middle of the road was thrown into the air by the bull and suffered a traumatic brain injury. He died on Tuesday in a hospital in Valencia, nine days after the incident.

A 50-year-old man also died in hospital after his lung was punctured by a bull in Meliana, north of Valencia.

A 64-year-old French visitor reportedly died on Monday of his injuries in Pedreguer, further down the coast.