A man in Alicante has died after being gored by a heifer in a bull run in the region. 

The traditional San Fermin festivities, which take place across a number of cities and locations in Spain, feature a running of the bulls, in which crowds gather and are chased by the animals through routes in the town. 

The festivals themselves have come under increasing pressure from animal rights groups in recent years, while many people who attend them are often injured or even killed as a result. 

In Alicante, a 29-year-old Spanish man died after receiving extensive wounds to the chest and stomach after being gored by a heifer on Saturday in the early hours of the morning. 

Image: Revelers run with Jose Escolar Gil's fighting bulls as they head towards Estafeta street during the third running of the bulls at the San Fermin Festival, in Pamplona. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

The local Red Cross report that the man was taken to hospital, where attempts to revive him were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead about an hour later. 

According to Spanish news station Antena 3, two people were gored by a bull in Pamplona during the festivities there, which takes to 14 the number of those at the Navarra hospital complex in the province receiving treatment for their injuries, while 85 people have required medical help in total.

Among those injured are a number of tourists including Canadian, Japanese and American citizens, while a 62-year-old resident of the region suffered a head injury.

Via Antena 3, Daily Mail