‘Stolen’ helicopter crashes into Australian hotel

During a “unauthorised” early-morning flight in Australia, an helicopter crashed into the roof of a hotel in Australia, killing the pilot.

Hundreds of guests were forced to evacuate after the aircraft struck the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in the northern Queensland city of Cairns at approximately 01:50 local time on Monday (16:50 BST Sunday). The impact caused a fire.

Two hotel visitors, an 80-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman, were taken to the hospital in stable condition, while the lone occupant of the aircraft perished at the scene, according to the authorities.

The helicopter may have been stolen, according to certain reports in the local media.

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The helicopter’s owner, Nautilus Aviation, announced that it would cooperate closely with all Queensland authorities in their investigation into the “unauthorized use of one of our helicopters in the early hours of this morning.”

While staying at the Cairns hotel on the main esplanade, Amanda Kay told stories of seeing a helicopter flying “extra low” in the rain without any lights. She said, “[It] has turned around and hit the building,” adding that the plane “blew up”.

Another onlooker claimed to have witnessed the chopper pass the hotel twice just prior to the crash.

“That helicopter was flying by very quickly, boy. A woman was heard saying, “Unbelievable,” as the crash’s fiery aftermath was captured on camera.

“It was just going out of control, that thing was.”

According to Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS), two of the helicopter’s rotor blades broke off with the impact and landed in the hotel pool as well as on the promenade.

“There’s been reports it sounded like a bomb, and [that after] seeing smoke and fire from that, a lot of the occupants of the hotel were very unsure about the situation,” Caitlin Dennings, a spokeswoman for the
Alastair Salmon, a different guest at the hotel, told the ABC it was “a colossal ear-deafening bang”.

Approximately 400 people, including Mr. Salmon from London, were taken out of the hotel.

He related how he mistook the nearby helicopter rotor blade for a lamppost when he saw it on the ground. “Then we looked up there and you could see this massive hole in the window of the building,” he told the ABC.

The hotel’s surrounding streets have been blocked off, and police have declared an emergency.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau, a watchdog on aviation safety, and Queensland Police are still looking into the specifics of the crash.

Cairns, a city in northern Queensland, is a well-liked travel destination because of its close proximity to the Great Barrier Reef.