Mexico's Pamplona turns into a bloodbath with two killed and 11 gored in bull-running disaster

By | Created at 2026-08-25 10:10:18 | Updated at 2026-09-19 13:40:20 3 weeks ago

Two people have been killed and another 11 injured in the Mexican version of Pamplona's famous Running of the Bulls festival.

Horrifying footage captured in the state of Tlaxcala, around 100 miles east of Mexico City, showed people getting killed and seriously hurt during the Huamantlada Festival, believed to be the biggest bullrunning event in the world. 

The deaths were the first for eight years at the festival, which has been running in the city of Huamantla for 72 years. Twenty-one fighting bulls were released as part of this year's event. 

One survivor of the raging animals was a woman who was tossed up in the air by one of the half-ton animals set loose in the streets.

Footage showed her being horned in the face and left at the mercy of the bull. 

She was tossed around by the animal as several people tried to cajole it away. 

She got a moment of respite and ran away in terror. But as she ran back to safety, blood was seen pouring down her face. 

Others weren't as lucky as her. Juan Manuel Filomeno Herrera, from Huamantla, died at just 29 on Saturday.

Horrifying footage captured in the state of Tlaxcala, around 100 miles east of Mexico City, showed people getting killed and seriously hurt during the Huamantla Festival

55-year-old José Andrés Hernández (pictured) was hit by a bull in his rear at the festival

He is said to have been gored after losing his balance and falling to the ground.

He reportedly suffered a traumatic brain injury, as well as a traumatic chest injury.  

And yesterday, the number of fatalities rose to two after it was confirmed that a second man had died in hospital.

Luis Xolocotzi Ramirez, 57, had suffered a skull fracture and gore injury to his chest in Saturday's event and had been taken to a specialist hospital in the State of Mexico by air ambulance, where he sadly died.

Another clip showed a man, named in local media as 55-year-old José Andrés Hernández, getting gored by a bull in his rear. 

He reportedly travelled to Huamantlada to watch the bullrunning on Saturday. After climbing over a fence, he was suddenly targeted by the bull. 

It knocked him to the ground, leaving him in a daze. Though a man tried to distract the bull, it turned its head back to Mr Hernández and attacked him again, lifting him up by its horns and throwing him to the ground. 

Unconscious, he was sent to the High Specialty Hospital in Ixtapaluca. Local media reported he is now in a stable condition, having suffered a head injury and a leg wound. 

The woman had blood pouring down her face following the bull attack

One survivor of the raging animals was a woman who was tossed up in the air by one of the half-ton animals set loose in the streets

Twenty-one fighting bulls were released into the streets of the city as part of this year's event

The first Huamantlada event took place in 1954, and they have become more and more popular each year since. 

It was based on the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, and was initially called the 'Pamplonana.'

The first event saw seven bulls get run through the streets of the city, a number that has grown to up to 25 in recent years. 

It is believed that the Huamantlada is even more dangerous than the bullrunning in Pamplona, as the animals are released in multiple directions in Mexico.  

Even the best bullfighters suffer serious injuries. Last week, one of Spain's top matadors was gored through the testicle in front of horrified spectators at a bullfight.

Footage shows the huge animal tossing David Fandila onto its horns and sending him into a somersault before being coaxed away by another matador.

The crowd at Baeza bullring in Jaén can be heard gasping as the wounded matador glanced down at his groin, assessing the damage.

Mr Fandila's colleagues rushed to his aid, with some using capes to protect his privacy while others inspected his wound.

The matador then clutched the area as he limped out of the ring, supported by a fellow bullfighter.

The incident occurred as the Granada-born matador was finishing a series of passes when the animal caught him in the groin area.

Mr Fandila was treated in the infirmary at Baeza bullring for a 'bull horn wound in the scrotum with evisceration of the right testicle'.

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