A pilot has died after the helicopter they were flying crashed into the roof of a hotel in a popular Australian tourist town.
Hundreds of guests at the Hilton’s DoubleTree hotel in the northern city of Cairns were evacuated after the incident at around 2am local time on Monday.
“The pilot and single occupant of the aircraft was located and declared deceased at the scene, and forensic investigations are under way to formally identify them,” Queensland Police said.
“The building was evacuated as a precaution and there were no injuries sustained by people on the ground.
“The Forensic Crash Unit, working alongside the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), will prepare a report for the coroner.”
A Public Safety Preservation Act (PSPA) was put in place by officers and an exclusion zone was enforced covering a number of nearby streets.
Videos posted on social media showed a fire on the roof of the hotel.
Two of the helicopter’s propellers came off and one landed in the hotel pool, according to Australian media reports.
