A tourist has died and five people have been taken to hospital after a suspected gas leak at the recently reopened Great Western Hotel in Cornwall, according to the BBC.

The body of a man in his 50s was found alone in his room at the St Austell Brewery owned hotel.

The two paramedics that treated him later felt unwell, and three other guests were taken to hospital suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.

High levels of the gas were found and the hotel was evacuated. The other 95 guests and 12 members of staff were moved from the hotel several hours later.

The hotel, which recently underwent a £1.1m refurbishment, will remain closed until the cause of the problem is established.

Odourless carbon monoxide is a by-product of fires and boilers and can be fatal unless cleared.

Devon and Cornwall Police are keeping an open mind to the cause of the man’s death.

A spokesman for the hotel said it was cooperating fully with the authorities and were “shocked and saddened to learn of the death of one of its guests”.

Fire safety in hotels >>

Gas leak sparks evacuation at luxury hotel >>

London hotel fined for failure to act on gas leak >>

By Gemma Sharkey

E-mail your comments to Gemma Sharkey here.