One dead, 12 missing in British resort fire
Pastor Dale Morgan
One dead, 12 missing in British resort fire*
From correspondents in London
August 19, 2007 02:46am
Article from: Agence France-Presse
AS many as 12 people are missing after a deadly fire which killed one
man and gutted a hotel in the seaside resort of Newquay, southwest
England, in the early hours of today, police said.
Five people remain in hospital, two of whom are in a critical condition,
following the blaze at the four-storey Penhallow Hotel in Newquay,
Cornwall, just after midnight yesterday.
“We are looking for any number between six and 12 missing people,”
police superintendent Barry Frost said, upgrading an earlier estimate of
six missing hotel guests.
“We will start to look for evidence as soon as it is safe to do so.”
Police have revealed that the man who died had jumped from a hotel
window as the fire took hold.
The fire destroyed the interior of the 54-room seafront hotel, leaving
only parts of the facade standing.
The dead man has yet to be identified, according to Supt Frost, who
added that two elderly hotel guests were in a critical condition in
hospital.
Police must wait until demolition experts have made the site secure
before starting their hunt for the missing people.
“The longer we go on the more concerned we become for the welfare of
those people,” added Stephen Otter, chief constable of Devon and
Cornwall Police.
“We have to investigate what happened along with the fire service and
that will take time.”
“The people in hospital are suffering from injuries from falling down,
burns and especially the elderly people are suffering from the trauma of
the whole thing.”
Ted Simpson, Cornwall County Fire Brigade's deputy chief fire officer,
added that firefighters were still searching the building.
He said the missing people “may or may not be inside the building”.
Mr Simpson said the roof has been destroyed and all the floors of the
hotel had collapsed.
“It was very well developed even before the fire brigade arrived.”
Investigators are at the scene to probe how the fire broke out.
“That's being hampered as the structure is unsafe and there is a danger
it will collapse,” added Mr Simpson.