Search at blaze hotel continues

Firecrews had to withdraw when part of the hotel collapsed

The search is continuing for two people who were staying at a Cornish hotel which was severely damaged by a fire in which one person died.

Holidaymakers from Merseyside, Cheshire and Lancashire were at the Penhallow Hotel in Newquay when fire broke out.

Two coaches from Lancashire-based tour operators Robinsons Holidays had taken tourists from north west England to spend a week at the hotel.

The fire swept through the hotel on Friday at about midnight.

A total of 86 people from the holiday firm were staying there at the time.

Two guests are still unaccounted for - although it has not yet been revealed where they are from.

Jumped to safety

Some residents were forced to jump to safety as the blaze swept through the building causing parts of the structure to later collapse.

Police believe the man who died was in his 40s. He had fallen from a second-floor window of the hotel.

Your photos: Hotel blaze Guests offered refuge Eyewitness describes blaze

Five other people were hurt. Four are still in hospital and one, an elderly woman, is critical, but her condition is improving.

Investigators have not ruled out the possibility that the missing people may have been inside the hotel when the fire broke out.

The building has been reduced to a burnt-out shell, with rubble and debris scattered across the surrounding road.

Police said they hoped to start the search later on Sunday.

Superintendent John Green said: "We hope to have screens up and to get in by early afternoon.

"There will be two teams of fire and police investigators. The fire investigators will look for the cause of the fire and the police will look for evidence linked to any cause of death and any bodies that may be in there.

"It is unlikely, if there was anyone in there, that they survived a building collapse of that nature."

Mature holidaymakers

John Major, a spokesman for the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), the trade association for the coach, bus and light railway industry, said : "The majority of guests were on a coach holiday and were from Lancashire, north Cheshire and Merseyside, along with a few guests from Yorkshire."

HOTEL FIRE HELPLINES The police information line number is 0800 056 0154 The hotel firm has also set up a helpline for anyone who is concerned about a friend or relative on 01254 889 900

The Penhallow is owned by Holdsworth Hotels and used regularly by Robinsons Holidays, a family-run tour operator.

Both firms are owned by the same parent company, O&C Holdsworth.

A spokesman for Robinsons said: "We do know that there were at least 86 people in the hotel who were with a Robinsons coach holiday.

"They are part of the same group that owns the hotel and they do cater for the more mature passenger, largely from the North and North West of England."