Brisbane, Australia
CNN
—
A helicopter crashed into the roof of a coastal hotel in Cairns, Australia, in the early hours of Monday, killing one person, authorities said. Video showed flames and smoke rising into the night sky.
Hundreds of guests and staff at the luxury DoubleTree by Hilton hotel were evacuated to the street after the helicopter crashed into the building near the Cairns Esplanade, a popular waterfront promenade for travelers in the north Queensland city.
Police have cordoned off the area on the busy tourist street and charter company Nautilus Aviation said it was working with authorities to investigate the “unauthorized use” of one of the company’s aircraft.
Witness Veronica Knight, who was visiting Cairns from Sydney, was sitting on the Esplanade talking on the phone after midnight when she saw a helicopter flying very low over the water.
It was flying “at full speed,” she told CNN. It disappeared from her sight for a few minutes and she was heading home when she saw the helicopter flying back. When she pulled out her phone to film it, the helicopter turned and flew straight toward the nearby, well-lit buildings.
Seconds later it hit the roof of the hotel.
Police said in a statement they received reports of the crash at 1:50 a.m., which caused a fire on the building’s roof. The hotel was evacuated and no one was injured, police said – but Knight added that guests “looked stunned” as they left the building.
Their videos show the orange glow of flames and smoke rising from the hotel’s roof as sirens wail in the distance.
The pilot – and only occupant of the helicopter – was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, police said.
Knight said the helicopter flew over trees and another, taller building before hitting the roof of the seven-story hotel.
“(The pilot) would have known those buildings were there,” Knight said. “The odd thing is he flew right past a tall building nearby, and he flew right past the tall one and hit a lower one.”
In a statement to CNN, the DoubleTree by Hilton Cairns said all guests – 421 adults and 50 children, as well as two staff members – had been safely evacuated and the hotel would arrange alternative accommodation for guests on Monday evening. It said it was cooperating with authorities in the investigation.
The police have set up a restricted zone in the area and asked the public to stay away.
Other investigators include the Forensic Accident Unit and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which sent a team to the crash site on Monday to collect evidence and conduct interviews.
The office asked witnesses who have photos or videos of the helicopter to contact authorities via the ATSB website.
