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One Dead, Six Missing After Hotel Fire

One person has died and six others are missing after fire swept through a hotel in Cornwall early this morning.
Emergency services were called to the four-storey Penhallow hotel in Newquay just after midnight.

The height of the blazeAround 100 firefighters took more than two hours to bring the blaze under control.

Over 80 people were evacuated from the building. Three were taken to hospital.

The hotel has suffered severe structural damage and floors have collapsed, rendering it unstable.

It is in a crescent of hotels overlooking the sea which cater mainly for elderly people.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1280374,00.html

Two of the four people believed to be missing after fire destroyed a seafront hotel in Cornwall have now come forward.

Aerial view of devastationThe news was revealed as the wreckage of the Penhallow Hotel in Newquay was being secured for experts to search for bodies.

Meanwhile, nearby hoteliers and fire brigade union officials have attacked cuts in the local fire service.

Chris Findon told Sky News: "Those lives could have been saved - it's the lack of equipment that's to blame."

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the FBU, said: "We know that the only two aerial appliances in Cornwall were out of action and an appliance had to come 50 miles from Devon.

"We have also been concerned at cuts in night cover.

"The first call to the Penhallow Hotel came at 12.30am. There were not enough crews in the area to man the second pump, it is dangerous not to have sufficient night time cover."

A man in his 40s died after jumping from one of the upper floors of the building as the flames spread.

Four others remain in hospital. One, believed to be elderly, is said to be in a critical condition.

Demolition crews have pulled down the shell of the hotel and police and fire teams will search the rubble for bodies.

But this is not likely to happen until tomorrow.

It is hoped the examination will also provide clues to the cause of the fire.

The fire at its peakHowever, Superintendent John Green said: "It is unlikely if there was any one in there they survived a building collapse of that nature."

Last night, 72 survivors were being taken home to the North West.

Police have revealed that a burglary took place a few hours before the fire broke out.

A spokesman said: "The cases are not being linked at this time but anyone who saw anything suspicious is asked to contact the police."

More than 100 firefighters were sent to tackle the blaze after the alarm was raised just after midnight on Friday.

Witnesses described flames shooting 30 feet from the roof and said they felt intense heat 100 yards away.

Police said 86 people were evacuated from the building. Two adjoining hotels were also evacuated.

The Penhallow, which lies in a crescent overlooking the sea, caters mainly for older people.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1280413,00.html