9 hurt in 1st day of Spain's running of the bulls

The half-mile sprint through cobblestone streets turned chaotic because the pack of six half-ton beasts became separated early in the route after plowing into a crowd of people, some of them spectators.

Some of the bulls fell and two ended up running on their own. One of those became disoriented, trying several times to turn around and go back toward the starting point. But herders waving sticks eventually guided it to the bull ring where the course ends.

Inside the ring one black bull fell down and stayed there for nearly a minute, as jubilant runners scampered about.

The Spanish Red Cross said nine people were injured, with head or rib injuries from falling or getting trampled. It said five were Spanish and the rest were from the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Britain. No names were given.

The whole run took just over four minutes, which is a bit slow by the standards of Pamplona's Fiesta de San Fermin, as the festival is known.

It was the first of eight scheduled runs. The most crowded ones will be next weekend, when the throngs of thrill-seekers will swell dramatically as people pour into Pamplona from out of town for two days of revelry and Adrenalin.

The fact that this year's festival began on a Monday meant a lighter turnout.

"There were a few tense moments, but I think everything went quite well. There were fewer people than at other times," said 29-year-old runner Aritz Lopez, from Bilbao.

Many of Monday's participants wore traditional white trousers and shirts and red kerchiefs around their necks. They carried rolled-up newspapers — a tool for gauging how far away a charging bull is.