SYDNEY (AFP) – A helicopter crashed into the roof of a Hilton hotel in northeastern Australia on Monday, police said, killing the pilot and igniting a blaze on the building’s roof.
Mangled pieces of the helicopter’s propeller landed in the hotel’s pool, said an emergency services official, adding that two other bystanders had been taken to hospital in a stable condition.
Hundreds of patrons were evacuated from the DoubleTree by Hilton, in the tropical northern city of Cairns, after the twin engine helicopter crashed around 1:50 am local time.
“The pilot and single occupant of the aircraft was located and declared deceased at the scene, and forensic investigations are underway to formally identify them,” police said in a statement.
Images showed a bright plume of fire blazing on the hotel’s roof.
“They just flew into that building,” a female voice says in a video shared on social media that captured the aftermath.
“Madness, man,” she adds as sirens blare in the background.
“Shivers. People were living in that. It smashed right in.”
Queensland Ambulance supervisor Caitlin Denning said the aircraft’s propellers had “dislodged”.
“One landed on the Cairns Esplanade and there was a second propeller located in the hotel pool on the bottom floor and it was on fire,” she told local media.
“There were reports of it sounding like a bomb, and seeing the fire and smoke, a lot of the occupants of the hotel were unsure of the situation.”
The roof fire appeared to have died down later in the morning.
Cairns is a popular tourist hub that offers a gateway to Australia’s famed Great Barrier Reef.
A team of government experts from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau have been dispatched to the crash site.
The safety bureau appealed for witnesses to come forward if they had “photos or video footage of the aircraft at any phase of the flight” or if they “heard the helicopter prior to impact”.
