A traumatised dad has told how he rushed his young family to safety from a burning hotel after the room above theirs caught fire in a horror blaze that left three dead.
Manju Prasanna, 38, and his wife and four year old daughter were jolted awake by fire alarms at Perth's New County Hotel at 5am on January 2. Manju, wife Chamika Niroshani and daughter Tenera had arrived in Scotland from Sri Lanka just one day before, on New Year's Day, after Chamika was accepted onto a business course at the University of Dundee.
Manju told the Record: "I woke up to some outside the room shouting to 'get out' as the alarms went off. Then I heard a man shouting ‘My room is on fire’.
"I woke up my wife and kid and told them we had to go. We bolted downstairs from our room on the first floor. People were screaming at the sight of the fire."
Manju said: “We just came here on January 1. Me and my wife and my kids.
But when Manju and his family got outside the hotel, the panicked father realised their passports were still inside. Worried about losing their only proof of identity, he raced back inside the building to retrieve them.
He added: “I could see the fire burning, the flames were bursting out the window. But I ran back to grab our documents."
Manju said the family have lost all their luggage and medicine in the blaze. While they are grateful to be safe and are now staying with friends, the dad explained that his little girl has been left badly shaken and in shock.
He continued: "I sat outside the hotel with my daughter after it happened. She was very scared. People were shouting loudly.
“It was horrible. She is still very upset but we are all okay and staying at a friend’s house.”
Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have mounted a joint investigation into the cause of the fire. At its peak, over 60 firefighters and 21 ambulance units were involved in the rescue efforts.
Eleven people were treated at the scene but did not go to hospital, and staff and guests of the New County have been moved to the Salutation Hotel. A cordon remains in place around the building on Tuesday, with a blue sheet draped over the window of the room where the blaze began.
Investigators wearing hard hats were seen entering the building and assessing the reception area. On Monday, Chief Superintendent Phil Davison told reporters that information on those killed in the fire would not be made immediately available.
He said: “Enquiries are now ongoing to establish the full set of circumstances of what has happened this [Monday] morning and our officers are working closely in joint investigation with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. As I am sure you will appreciate enquiries are at an early stage and therefore no further details of those involved will be released at this time and we will provide more information as it becomes appropriate and right to do so.”
Jason Sharp, SFRS area commander, added: “This was a very complex incident where tragically three people were pronounced dead at the scene. Our thoughts are very much with immediate family and friends at this difficult time.
“Our firefighters and community action teams have and will continue to engage to ensure safety in this area and we will continue to work closely with stakeholders and Police Scotland in any subsequent investigation.”
A hotel insider told yesterday how he could only see "two inches" in front of him because of thick smoke. Locals have been united in their grief over the incident, just one day after New Year.
Chathuranga Shameera, 35, who lives in a nearby flat overlooking the scene, said: "We saw all the ambulances and the fire brigade trying to control the fire at about 5am, about 25 to 50 of them. It's a very sad situation, a heartbreaking situation, especially at New Year."
Shoaib Muhammad, who runs County News newsagents across the street from the New County Hotel, said: "All I know is that it happened while people were sleeping. It's very sad news, a tragedy."
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