A man died after an unauthorised helicopter flight in Queensland ended in a crash on a hotel roof early Monday morning, prompting the evacuation of hundreds of people from the building as flames engulfed the aircraft.
Authorities in the city of Cairns said they had not confirmed the pilot’s identity, the reason for the flight, or how the tourist helicopter took off from the local airport.
A couple staying at the hotel were hospitalised for smoke inhalation and have now been discharged, Queensland Police Service Acting Chief Superintendent Shane Holmes told reporters. No one else on the ground was hurt.
Holmes said it was unknown if the man flying the helicopter held a pilot’s license or if he worked for the company that owned the craft, Nautilus Aviation.
“There is no further threat to the community, and we believe this is an isolated incident,” Holmes said.
Nautilus Aviation said in a written statement that the flight was “unauthorised” but would not disclose any further details.
Cairns Airport CEO Richard Barker said initial findings on Monday showed “no compromise of the airport security program or processes.”
About 400 people were evacuated from the hotel after the crash, which happened in the early morning hours in a busy tourist district of Cairns — a tropical city of 150,000 people in far north Queensland — amid peak season for holidaymakers. Witnesses told local news outlets that the crash sounded like a bomb explosion.
Smoke and flames billowed from the roof of the Doubletree Hilton, and one of the helicopter’s rotor blades landed in the hotel pool, the Australian broadcaster ABC reported.
The hotel remained cordoned off while its structural integrity was being examined.
