Woman Gored in Chest By Bull During San Fermin Festival 2013; 23-Year-Old is Listed in Critical Condition

Local officials stated woman participating in the final day of Spain's annual San Fermin running of the bulls' festival was gored in the chest, Reuters reports.

The 23-year-old Austrailian woman, who identified by her initials J.E. is currently in critical condition after immediately being taken to a local hospital for surgery. J.E. reportedly suffered several fractured ribs and damage to her right lung, according to a medical report released by officials.

The San Fermin festivel tradition involves being chased by the bulls during an early morning run on cobbled streets of Pamplona in northeast Spain. Participants where all white with red neckerchiefs tied around their necks as they run to evade the angry animals. After the run, bulls are challenged and usually killed by the bullfighters in the ring.

The festival attracts thousands of tourists a year, and many participants stay up all-night drinking at the bar before the run. The San Fermin bull run has seen 14 deaths in the past century, including the last death of a 27-year-old Spaniard who was gored in the neck by a bull in 2009.

"The bull run is believed to date to the 13th century but is known to have continued virtually every year since 1592, when the festival was shifted from September to July," according to Reuters. "People are thought to have joined the running herd sometime in the 1800s."

According to Spanish authorities, three Spaniards and one American were also injured on Sunday. The two natives of Spain reportedly suffered minor injuries, but the condition of the other two runners has not been released, Reuters reports.

During another running event on Saturday, a 19-year-old Spaniard was left in "very serious" condition after runners fell on top of each other by the entrance to the bullring, where the run ends. According to Reuters, several people were trampled. Friday's run left three men gored, including an American who had his spleen removed.

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