Fire At Haunted House Injures Nine

EL PASO, Texas (AP) _ A fire gutted an amusement park’s haunted house ride Sunday, seriously burning all four passengers on the ride and injuring four other park patrons and a firefighter.

The cause of the blaze at Western Playland, El Paso’s only amusement park, was under investigation, said Raul Tarango, administrative chief of the El Paso Fire Department.

The fire broke out about 4 p.m. The four people on the ride at the time included a woman, her 12-year-old daughter, a 15-year-old boy and a male whose age was not available.

The woman and the male were taken to Thomason Hospital for treatment of first- and second-degree burns.

One victim was in stable condition and the other was in guarded condition Sunday night, said nursing supervisor Lela Owens.

The woman’s daughter and the 15-year-old boy were listed in stable condition with second-degree burns at Columbia Medical Center-West, said spokeswoman Arlene Ormsby.

A firefighter was treated at the park for burns to his chest, and two park patrons were treated for smoke inhalation.

Two other victims were taken to Columbia Medical Center-East with undisclosed injuries. One was released and the other was listed in stable condition.

A crowd of up to 4,000 people were inside the amusement park when the fire broke out, Tarango said.

The Gold Nugget, which opened in 1971, is designed to look like an abandoned gold mine.