• Patrick Eccles, 20, was gored in the stomach and had his spleen removed
  • A 42-year-old Spaniard was left with arm injuries
  • Most bloody attack was 31-year-old gored twice in the groin and once in the leg

By Gerard Couzens and Louise Boyle

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A 20-year-old University of Utah student has been revealed today as the American tourist gored by a bull during the famous Spanish Running of the Bulls festival in Pamplona.

Patrick Eccles, who studies architecture and business, was gored in the stomach on Friday morning by the half-ton beast. Today was the bloodiest day of the annual festival after Mr Eccles, from Logan, was seriously injured along with two Spaniards as people ran through the town's cobbled streets being hotly pursued by bulls. 

Horrifying pictures show the American tourist, dressed in traditional white with a red scarf, being pierced in the stomach by a bull's horn as he screams in pain.

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Agony: Patrick Eccles, a 20-year-old American, was gored in the stomach on Friday during the annual Running of the Bulls in Pamplona

Agony: Patrick Eccles, a 20-year-old American, was gored in the stomach on Friday during the annual Running of the Bulls in Pamplona

Thrill-seeker: The 20-year-old architecture student from Utah is having his spleen removed following his horrific injuries

Thrill-seeker: The 20-year-old architecture student from Utah is having his spleen removed following his horrific injuries

Vicious: Mr Eccles winces in pain as he is gored by a bull - six people in total were taken to hospital after today's run

Vicious: Mr Eccles winces in pain as he is gored by a bull - six people in total were taken to hospital after today's run

Tourist trap: Eccles, right, was studying abroad in Spain when he decided to take part in the annual Running of the Bulls

Tourist trap: Eccles, right, was studying abroad in Spain when he decided to take part in the annual Running of the Bulls

Mr Eccles was studying abroad in Spain but not as part of a university program, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

According to the Utah University's website graduated from Logan High School where he was a member of the football team.

He was rushed to Navarra Hospital where doctor's discovered that the bull's horn had pierced his abdominal cavity and punctured the organ. His condition was reported as stable.

Mr Eccles and a second American, aged 48 and thought to have suffered head injuries, were both in hospital.

Six people in total were taken to hospital after today's run, the sixth of eight.

The gorings were the first of this year's festival, in which just 15 runners had been taken to hospital over the first five days.

A 42-year-old Spaniard also had his arm punctured on Friday but the most terrifying moments occurred when a lone bull became separated from the pack and attacked a second Spanish runner as he lay helpless on the ground after being mown down by the animal and tripping in front of it.

The half-ton beast gored the 31-year-old twice in the groin and once in the leg.

Grimace in pain: Red Cross personnel look after Eccles who took part as a runner or 'mozo' after he was gored by a bull

Grimace in pain: Red Cross personnel look after Eccles who took part as a runner or 'mozo' after he was gored by a bull

Emergency: Red Cross personnel carry a runner on a stretcher to receive treatment after being gored

Emergency: The student is taken away on a stretcher to receive treatment after being gored and later had his spleen removed

Off on an adventure: Eccles has posted various pictures during his trip abroad including his 'trail-running flip-flops'

Off on an adventure: Eccles has posted various pictures during his trip abroad including his 'trail-running flip-flops'

Dramatic TV pictures showed him being lifted in the air on the animal's horns with his trousers round his ankles.

Other runners tried to distract the animal by grabbing its tail and waving newspapers at it. But a friend was only able to drag him away after more than half a minute of terror.

The injured man, from the eastern Spanish province of Castellon between Barcelona and Alicante, was undergoing an emergency operation this morning.

His condition was described as 'serious.'

Horrifying:

Horrifying: Three people were gored today on the bloodiest day of the famous Spanish Running of the Bulls festival so far this year

Menacing:

Menacing: The runner gets tossed in the air by an El Pilar fighting bull after getting gored on Estafeta street during the sixth running of the bull

Trapped: The man is caught between the horns of an El Pilar fighting bull after being gored

Trapped: The man is caught between the horns of an El Pilar fighting bull after being gored

Desperate: The man tries to escape the bull as a steward gets out a stick to distract the angry animal

Desperate: The man tries to escape the bull as a steward gets out a stick to distract the angry animal

Attack: The half-ton beast gored the 31-year-old twice in the groin and once in the leg

Attack: The half-ton beast gored the 31-year-old twice in the groin and once in the leg

Frantic: A runner pulls on the tail of the bull in an attempt to distract it and make it drop the mauled man

Frantic: A runner pulls on the tail of the bull in an attempt to distract it and make it drop the mauled man

Terror:

Terror: Other runners tried to distract the animal by grabbing its tail and waving newspapers at it. But a friend was only able to drag him away after more than half a minute of terror

Emergency

Emergency: The injured man, from the eastern Spanish province of Castellon between Barcelona and Alicante, was undergoing an emergency operation this morning. His condition was described as 'serious'

Tradition: Revelers from around the world arrive to Pamplona every year to take part on some of the eight days of the running of the bulls

Tradition: Revelers from around the world arrive to Pamplona every year to take part on some of the eight days of the running of the bulls

They included gas firm worker John Bennett, 44, from Wolverhampton in the UK, who suffered knee injuries on the first run on Sunday after being trampled on by other runners as he fell near the end of the course.

Fifteen people have been killed at the annual festival, made famous by a 1926 Ernest Hemingway novel, since records began in 1911.

Between 200 to 300 people are usually injured each year.

The most recent death was in 2009 when 27-year-old Daniel Jimeno, from Madrid, was gored in the neck by a bull called Capuchino.

The event has become increasingly popular with foreigners, who join the locals by staying up all night drinking and partying before thousands compete in the 8am run.

Pamplona's population of 200,000 swells to around two million during the festival, the largest in Spain.

After each morning run, the animals are killed in an afternoon bullfight.

Around 3,500 thrill-seekers compete in the most popular weekend runs with 2,000 taking part during the week.

Annual event:

Annual event: Fifteen people have been killed at the annual festival, made famous by a 1926 Ernest Hemingway novel, since records began in 1911

Run:

Run: The event has become increasingly popular with foreigners, who join the locals by staying up all night drinking and partying before thousands compete in the 8am run

Draw: Pamplona's population of 200,000 swells to around two million during the festival, the largest in Spain

Draw: Pamplona's population of 200,000 swells to around two million during the festival, the largest in Spain

Aggression: An 'El Pilar' fighting bull charges against a reveler

Aggression: An 'El Pilar' fighting bull charges against a reveler

Count: Hospital authorities initially said four people were gored but the regional government revised that down to three

Count: Hospital authorities initially said four people were gored but the regional government revised that down to three

Sport: A young woman tries to outrun a the bull, but does not succeed, at the close of the running-with-the-bulls in the old city of Pamplona

Fail: The woman does not succeed as she runs ahead while the bull makes contact

Sport: A young woman tries to outrun a bull at the close of the running-with-the-bulls in the old city of Pamplona

Sport: A young woman tries to outrun a bull at the close of the running-with-the-bulls in the old city of Pamplona

Duration

Duration: Today's event lasted just under five minutes, roughly double the normal length. Longer runs normally occur when some of the bulls get separated from the pack and become disoriented and more dangerous

The black bull which caused most panic Friday made several more attempts to charge people before he was eventually guided along the narrow streets to join the rest for the pack in the pen of the packed bull ring

Legend: Ernest Hemingway popularized the week-long fiesta in his book The Sun Also Rises in 1926

Legend: Ernest Hemingway popularized the week-long fiesta in his book The Sun Also Rises in 1926

Deaths

Deaths: The fighting bulls used in the centuries-old fiesta can weigh up to at 1,380 pounds (625 kilograms) and have killed 15 people since record-keeping began in 1924

The comments below have not been moderated.

Idiot's

Stupid Anglo-American. Who challenges a beast like this one. Well done for the bull.

(Doctor) "yes, we had to remove his spleen. His cell phone, however is permanently attached to his hand, and there's no hope for him".

Gored by a bull, bleeding on the ground, and holding on to his cell phone the whole time!

Who cares if the people get hurt? I'd be more concerned about stopping this hellish festival....

I feel sorry ... for the bulls. They are driven mad by the thousands of people taunting them. No wonder they attack. Can you imagine this being allowed in health and safety Britain? Why is it still allowed in Spain, an EU country? We aren't even allowed to roll a cheese down a hill and run after it! - tom moncrieff, london england, 12/7/2013 17:04 if it's stinky blue cheese (equivalent smell to durian), then it's potentially quite dangerous.

Good. I hope it really hurt and I hope he felt pure terror just like these animals do.

What a absolutely stupid tradition! What do they (mindless participants) expect?

Team Bull!

It's hard to feel badly for people who knowingly put themselves in harm's way. I feel sorry for the bull...beautiful animal.

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