A helicopter on an unauthorized flight crashed into the roof of a hotel in Cairns, a popular tourist destination in northern Australia, early Monday morning, resulting in the death of the pilot and the evacuation of hundreds of hotel guests.
According to Reuters, emergency crews responded around 2 a.m. local time (1600 GMT on Sunday) after the twin-engine helicopter struck the hotel, igniting a fire and prompting immediate evacuations, as reported by Queensland state police.
Authorities have confirmed that the helicopter was taken from its hangar without authorization. The pilot, whose identity has not been released, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The crash occurred at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Cairns, a city known as a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, according to Australian media.
Two hotel guests, an elderly man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s, were treated at a hospital and later released. State broadcaster ABC reported that two rotor blades from the helicopter detached, with one landing in the hotel pool.
The forensic crash unit will collaborate with Australia’s transport safety regulator to compile an accident report, police stated.
Nautilus Aviation, the owner of the helicopter, has announced its full cooperation with the ongoing investigation.
