MADRID — A man died from his injuries after he was gored by a bull at a festival in eastern Spain, authorities said.

The Spanish man, who was not named, was gored in his side by a bull called Cocinero during the bull running festival in the town of Pobla de Farnals in Valencia region on Saturday.

He was taken to hospital but died later, officials there said on Sunday.

A second Spanish man was gored in the leg by the same bull and was in a stable condition in hospital, they added.

Bulls are released into the streets and runners dash ahead of them in a tradition played out in more than 1,820 Spanish municipalities every year, according to a recent survey by animal rights groups AnimaNaturalis and CAS International.

Such events remain popular. But many activists say they are dangerous and cruel, and debates over whether they should be abolished have become more heated in recent years.