Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Dad tells of moment he fled fatal Perth hotel fire with wife and daughter

Manju Prasanna Perth Hotel Fire
Manju Prasanna was staying at the New County Hotel with his family when the fire started. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson

A guest at a Perth hotel where three people died in a fire has told how he fled the flames with his family.

Manju Prasanna was staying at the New County Hotel with his wife and four-year-old daughter on Sunday into Monday.

He is visiting his wife – who is a student at Dundee University – from his home in Sri Lanka.

The 38-year-old described the moment he was woken up by shouting from outside his hotel room.

‘My kid was screaming’

Mr Prasanna told The Courier: “One person was shouting loudly that there’s a fire. I heard the fire alarm go off at 4.30am.

“I came to my door with my wife and kid. I came out the building and there were flames.

“My kid was screaming loudly at the time.”

Emergency crews on scene on Monday.
Emergency crews on scene on Monday. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson

After making it to safety with his family, Mr Prasanna decided to go back into the building in an attempt to retrieve his passport and luggage.

He said: “When we got out I remembered my passport was in the room.

“I went back in [to get it and the luggage].

“The room was filling with smoke, so I grabbed my passport then came out.”

The family have now been helped to find alternative accommodation.

Chief Superintendent Phil Davison.
Chief Superintendent Phil Davison. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson

In a press conference on Monday afternoon, Police Scotland confirmed three people had died as a result of the fire.

The first reports were made to the Scottish Fire and Rescue at 5.02am – with more than 60 firefighters on scene tackling the flames at the height of the blaze.

Medics from Tayside Trauma Team and the Scottish Ambulance Service also attended.

The scene outside the New County Hotel on Tuesday.
The scene on Tuesday. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson

Hotel guests and two people from a neighbouring block of flats were evacuated and are being supported.

Police confirmed on Tuesday a probe into the circumstances is continuing.

Chief Superintendent Phil Davison said: “Our thoughts are very much with the families and loved ones of those who have died at what is a very difficult time for everyone.

“Our inquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of what has happened and officers are conducting a joint investigation with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.”

Conversation