pamplona overhead
Runners and bulls round the Curva de Estafeta Getty

A 23-year-old man from Nottingham is in a serious condition after being injured at the Pamplona bull running festival.

The man, who has only been identified as T.H. is believed to have suffered injuries to his chest and rib fractured while taking part in the San Fermin festival.

He was participating in the second running of the bulls, which involved six bulls. Two other men – a Japanese man and a Spanish national, also suffered from minor injuries.

The Foreign & Commonwealth office said it was aware of a British national being hospitalised in Pamplona, Spain, on 8 July. It said it is providing consular assistance.

According to El Pais, T.H. suffered from a pulmonary contusion, where blood and other fluids accumulate in the lungs because of blunt trauma, and a haemothorax.

Thousands of people participated in the run on the second day of the festival. It lasted just two-and-a-half minutes.

At the festival opening, one person was gored and three others were hospitalised. Fifteen people have died at the event since 1910, when records began.

Animal rights groups have widely condemned the festival for its cruelty. "Many of the tourists who come to Pamplona to run with the bulls have no idea that they are participating in a festival that celebrates the torture and death of these magnificent animals, and if they did, most would undoubtedly run the other way", Peta campaign coordinator Kirsty Henderson said ahead of the event.

"We're here to ask thrill seekers to find another way to get their kicks that doesn't involve harming animals."

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