He was the first person killed since 2003, when 63-year-old Spaniard Fermin Etxeberria was trampled by a bull and later died after two and a half months in a coma.

The San Fermin festival, which is known around the world for its running of the bulls and street revelry, got under way with the traditional firing of a rocket in front of Pamplona city hall.

The festival, begun about 400 years ago, was popularised by Ernest Hemingway in his 1926 novel 'The Sun Also Rises'.

The run through the medieval streets of Pamplona's historic centre, usually lasting four minutes, is especially dangerous because some runners take part in the event after all-night drinking binges.

This makes runners reckless and more likely to get too close to the bulls, which weigh in excess of 500 kg.

The running of the bulls is monitored by experts who control the route and try to prevent accidents, but, inevitably, runners fall, suffer cuts and bruises, and are even gored by the animals.