Cimarron, NM – Several small children have been taken to the hospital following an explosion at a historic Cimarron hotel.
Authorities say a propane leak caused today’s blast that blew out first-floor windows at the St. James Hotel shortly after 10 a-m.
Cimarron Police Chief Steve Boyce says a pilot flame apparently ignited propane that had built up under the hotel.
He says there was a family in the hotel lobby at the time. The family’s small children were knocked down by the blast and taken to a Raton hospital.
But Boyce says they didn’t appear to have any cuts or burns, and the parents weren’t injured.
Authorities closed the hotel for the rest of the day.