Wellington: A man died when an unauthorized helicopter flight crashed onto the roof of a hotel in Queensland, Australia, early Monday morning. Hundreds of people had to be evacuated from the building as the plane burst into flames.
Cairns city authorities said they had not confirmed the identity of the pilot, the reason for the flight or how the tourist helicopter was able to take off from Cairns airport.
A couple staying at the hotel were taken to hospital with smoke inhalation and have since been released, Queensland Police Service Acting Commissioner Shane Holmes told reporters. No one else at the scene was injured.
Holmes said it was not known whether the man flying the helicopter had a pilot’s license or whether he worked for Nautilus Aviation, the company that owned the aircraft.
“There is no further threat to the community and we believe this is an isolated incident,” Holmes said.
Nautilus Aviation said in an unattributed written statement that the flight was “unauthorized” but declined to provide further details.
Cairns Airport CEO Richard Barker said initial findings from a review on Monday showed there had been “no compromise to the airport’s security program or processes”.
About 400 people were evacuated from the hotel after the crash. The accident occurred in the early hours of the morning in a busy tourist area of Cairns – a tropical city of 150,000 people in the far north of Queensland – which is currently peak season for holidaymakers. Eyewitnesses told local news agencies that the crash sounded like a bomb exploding.
Smoke and flames billowed from the roof of the Doubletree Hilton and one of the helicopter’s rotor blades landed in the hotel pool, Australian broadcaster ABC reported.
The hotel remains cordoned off while its structural integrity is assessed.
