A survivor of a horrific gas explosion at a Perthshire holiday camp made a poignant return to the scene of his near-death ordeal.
Donald Lockhart was only 12 when he was nearly killed in a blast at the Faskally Caravan Park near Pitlochry. A faulty canister blew up inside his tent, trapping him with a wall of flames,until he was pulled to safety by a passing tourist.
Donald returned to the park for the first time in 32 years, to thank staff who helped him and begin a search for his rescuer.
Donald, who now lives in Sweden with his wife and two young children, said: “It’s a day I remember really well. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.”
The accident happened in the summer of 1983. Donald said: “I had been with my friend, Steven, and we were camping out, having a bit of a boys’ own adventure. My mum was going to join us the following day and it was meant to be a proper family holiday, but obviously that never happened.
“When were going to cook breakfast in the tent and we changed the cylinder on a small gas canister, it started leaking and hissing. Steven, who was at the back of the tent, threw it to me and I tried to throw it out of the door but it hit the wall of the tent and bounced back inside and then it just exploded with a huge whoosh.”
They never learned what sparked the explosion. “There was flames everywhere. I couldn’t find my way out,” Donald said. “I curled up at the back of the tent and I thought to myself: this is it, I’m going to die.
“There was this searing, immense pain all over me and I remember there was a moment when I just couldn’t feel the pain anymore. I thought that was it.
“The next thing I knew, these two hands plunged into the tent and pulled me out. I was rushed to the shower block and a guy with his son came out, stark naked, to let me in.”
Donald went through 11 operations and skin grafts in the space of two weeks, but has since made a full recovery.
“I had been thinking a lot about this recently and I decided that I wanted to come back and see the place again.
“I suppose it was like closing a door on this whole episode for me. I wanted to see the staff who helped me but I also want to find the man who pulled me out of the tent. He was a German tourist who was staying nearby but I never got to thank him properly. Without their help, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Donald, now a glass blower, gave site owner Ewan Hay an ornate whisky glass he made. Mr Hay said: “I remember the smell most of all. The smell of burnt flesh. It was horrendous. Someone came running into the office, really distressed, telling us there had been an accident.
“It’s good to see Donald back, though. I never thought I would see him again.”
Anyone who knows the German tourist is asked to contact The Courier by emailing news@thecourier.co.uk.