As expected, several people were injured in the first day of the annual bull-running festival held in Pamplona, northern Spain.

One man died on Sunday when he fell 30 yards from an ancient wall during the celebrations, local authorities said. Police did not release the person’s name.

Most of the injuries were cuts and bruises from falling over said the Red Cross representatives. Five of the injured were Spanish and the rest were from the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Britain.

One man was grazed by the horn of one of six bulls set loose; the others who needed medical care had only light injuries such as bruising, cuts and concussion.

According to AFP, four of the injured people were foreign tourists drawn by the controversial event in which the bulls are set loose on the city’s streets and then killed by the matadors who execute various formal moves performed at close range which can result in injury or death of the performer, but which often end with the death of the bull by a well-placed sword thrust at the finale.

This year, several bulls fell while running on Pamplona’s tight streets and one of the animals even became separated early in the route after plowing into a crowd of people.

The bull’s run through the street took just over four minutes at this year’s edition of Pamplona's Fiesta de San Fermin. However, this was just the first of eight scheduled runs.

"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 according to The Associated Press.

The tradition of bull fighting, very popular in Spain, Portugal, some cities in southern France, and several Latin American countries, generated heated controversy as animal rights groups argue that it is a blood sport because of the suffering of the bull and horses during the fight.