Donna Janse Van Rensburg, 44, and Sharon McLean, 47, both from Aberdeen, and Keith Russell, 38, originally from Edinburgh, all lost their lives in the blaze on Monday morning.
Friday 6 January 2023 19:36, UK
The victims of a fire which killed three people at a hotel in Perth have been named.
Two women and a man died in the blaze which broke out in the New County Hotel shortly after 5am on Monday.
Police have named them as sisters Donna Janse Van Rensburg, aged 44, and Sharon McLean, aged 47, both from Aberdeen, and Keith Russell, aged 38, originally from Edinburgh.
Donna’s dog, Joey, a three year-old King Charles spaniel, also died.
Mr Russell’s family released a statement saying: “Keith was a loving father and loved by all his family. He will be greatly missed.”
Chief Superintendent Phil Davison said: “Our thoughts continue to be with the family and friends of those who died as well as the many people affected by this incident.
“A joint investigation with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is ongoing and a report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal.
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“I would like to again thank all the emergency services and partner agencies involved as well as the local community for their patience while enquiries are carried out.”
A further 11 people were treated for minor injuries following the fire, with hotel guests and two people from a neighbouring block of flats also evacuated on Monday morning.
One guest at the hotel told Sky News that she felt “lucky to get out alive” after escaping the fire.
The woman, who gave her name as Barbara, said that she and her husband had been staying in a room directly above where the fire broke out.
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She said: “We woke to the sounds of the alarms going off and just ran, we left everything we have in the room.
“As we reached the front door you could see burning embers falling to the ground. We ran through as quickly as we could, hoping that nothing would fall on us.
“We didn’t realise how close we were to where the fire started, really we’re lucky to get out alive.”
