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Dozens evacuated from early morning hostel blaze in Inverness | Dozens evacuated from early morning hostel blaze in Inverness |
(about 3 hours later) | |
More than 50 people have been evacuated from a backpackers hostel after an early morning blaze in Inverness. | |
Police Scotland said the alarm was raised just after 05:00 at the hostel in the Eastgate area of the city. | Police Scotland said the alarm was raised just after 05:00 at the hostel in the Eastgate area of the city. |
One eyewitness described the flames coming from the four storey Eastgate Backpackers Hostel as "horrendous". | |
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said all residents had been accounted for and the fire was under control. Nobody was injured. | |
The 51 people who were evacuated, many of them still in their night clothes, were given shelter inside the nearby Eastgate Shopping Centre. | |
They have been taken on to a reception centre in the Spectrum Centre, at Farraline Park, set up by Highland Council and the British Red Cross. | |
Fire crews searched the hostel building to establish whether anyone had been trapped inside. | Fire crews searched the hostel building to establish whether anyone had been trapped inside. |
Police Scotland said the High Street had been closed from Stephen's Brae/Inglis Street to Crown Road while the fire was fully extinguished and area was secured. | |
Ch Insp Graeme Murdoch, Area Commander for Inverness, said: "We are happy to report that all occupants of the hostel were evacuated and there appear to be no casualties. Welfare arrangements are in place for those affected. | |
"Investigation of the cause of the fire will now commence and we are actively seeking to minimise disruption to the city centre." |