A pilot has died after their helicopter crashed into the roof of a hotel in Cairns, northern Queensland.
The incident occurred around 1:50 a.m. local time on Monday (16:50 BST on Sunday) at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel, sparking a fire and leading to the evacuation of hundreds of guests.
Authorities confirmed that the pilot, the helicopter’s only occupant, died at the scene. Two hotel guests, an 80-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman, were taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Queensland Police and the aviation safety watchdog are investigating the crash.
The company that operates the helicopter, Nautilus Aviation, stated the flight was “unauthorized” and that they are cooperating with authorities.
Amanda Kay, a hotel guest, described seeing a helicopter flying “extra low” in poor weather conditions without lights.
“[It] has turned round and hit the building,” she said, noting that the helicopter “blew up” upon impact.
Another witness mentioned seeing the helicopter pass by the hotel twice before the collision, adding, “Boy, that was going fast, that helicopter. Unbelievable… It was just going out of control.”
According to the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS), two rotor blades detached from the helicopter on impact, landing on the esplanade and in the hotel pool.
QAS spokeswoman Caitlin Dennings reported, “There’s been reports it sounded like a bomb, and [that after] seeing smoke and fire from that, a lot of the occupants of the hotel were very unsure about the situation.”
Another tourist, Alastair Salmon from London, who was among the roughly 400 people evacuated, described the noise as “a colossal ear-deafening bang.”
He initially mistook one of the helicopter’s rotor blades for a lamppost before noticing the damage to the hotel.
“Then we looked up there and you could see this massive hole in the window of the building,” Salmon told the ABC.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has dispatched investigators to the scene. Streets surrounding the hotel have been cordoned off, and police have declared an emergency situation.
Cairns, located in northern Queensland, is a popular tourist destination known for its proximity to the Great Barrier Reef.
Source-BBC
