A man has been charged in connection with a massive hotel fire as the search to continues to find a missing man.
Damion Harris, 30 of Llanbadarn, Aberystwyth, has been charged with arson with intent to endanger life following the huge blaze at the Ty Belgrave House Hotel on Marine Terrace in Aberystwyth which broke out shortly after 2am last Wednesday, July 25.
Harris will appear from custody at Aberystwyth Magistrates Court today.
Nine adults and three children were rescued from the fire, with five taken to hospital as a precaution - but one man is still unaccounted for.
Officers have this evening revealed that they are now working with the Lithuanian embassy in a bid to trace his next of kin.
The building has proved to be unsafe following the fire, with emergency services unable to gain access to the building.
DCI Neil Jenkins at Dyfed Powys Police said this week that work is being carried out to make the building safe while preserving evidence at the scene.
He added: “It is anticipated that access will not be possible until the end of this week at the earliest.”
The boutique guest house was devastated in the blaze and it is understood each of the internal floors has collapsed.
Two neighbouring properties also had to be evacuated and were damaged, with the Red Cross providing support to 33 people affected by the incident.
Emyr Davies, the hotel’s owner, told the BBC the fire alarm system was “full and operational” and “seems to have worked as designed and alerted the residents” to the blaze.
He added that those who managed to get out of the burning building “suffered no serious injuries” but had a “frightening experience”.
