U.S. Tourist Killed At ‘Running Of The Bulls’

An American tourist was killed Thursday at the “running of the bulls” in Pamplona when he was knocked down by one bull, then gored by another.

Matthew Peter Tassio, 22, of Glen Ellyn, Ill., a Chicago suburb, was the first person to die at Pamplona’s San Fermin festival in 15 years.

Tassio had just graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in electrical engineering and was at the end of a trip that had taken him and a friend through Egypt, Greece, Italy, Hungary and Austria.

His death and the injuries this week to 30 people, including five Americans, have stirred a nationwide debate on the safety measures taken at Pamplona’s eight-day festival and others like it all over Spain.

Every year, thousands of foreign tourists flock to Pamplona to test their bravado by dashing ahead of the bulls as they are run through the city’s narrow streets from the corral to the bullring. But officials said that too often, they go with little knowledge of the dangers, insufficient training, too little sleep and too much alcohol after a night of celebration.

Every year, there are an average of 10 to 12 serious gorings in addition to injuries caused by trampling, either by bulls or by other runners, according to City Hall calculations. Many of the injured have been foreigners. And among foreign visitors, Americans are the ones who are most likely to be injured, according to records.

Americans “don’t understand the festival,” said Juan Maria Urbano, a commentator on the popular morning talk show “Pasa la Vida” (“Life Goes By”) on Spanish television. “They think it’s some sort of sport based on how fast or how far you can run.”

Daniel Ross, the U.S. vice consul in Bilbao, said, “Europeans and Spaniards see the running as a show or spectacle like bullfights and leave the performance to the professionals. Americans come here with the image of ‘The Sun Also Rises’ and just don’t realize how dangerous it is.”