A stolen helicopter has crashed into a hotel in Cairns, killing the pilot and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of guests.
Guests were evacuated from the DoubleTree by Hilton after a twin engine helicopter that had been stolen from a nearby airport crashed yesterday around 1.50am local time.
Mangled pieces of the helicopter's propeller landed in the hotel's pool.
The company that owns the chopper has confirmed the flight was unauthorised. Police said that the pilot, who was the sole passenger in the helicopter, died at the scene and they were not able to say at this stage whether the pilot was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Two people who were staying in a room close to where the aircraft crashed were hospitalised for smoke inhalation.
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.
The roof fire was extinguished later in the morning. Cairns is a popular tourist hub that offers a gateway to Australia's famed Great Barrier Reef.
Poor visibility
Australian Transport Safety Bureau commissioner Angus Mitchell said flying conditions were tricky at the time of the crash, with poor visibility and possibly rain.
A team of government experts from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau have been dispatched to the crash site.
IOL Travel