A helicopter crashed into the roof of a hotel in the popular northern Australian tourist town of Cairns, killing the pilot and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of guests, authorities said on Monday.
Emergency crews were called at about 2 a.m. on Monday, local time (2000 GST on Sunday) after a twin-engine helicopter collided with the hotel roof, causing a fire on top of the building and triggering evacuations, Queensland state police said in a statement.
Police said forensic investigations were underway to formally identify the pilot. He was declared dead at the scene.
"There were no injuries sustained by people on the ground," the police statement said.
The crash occurred at Hilton's Double Tree Hotel in the city of Cairns, a major gateway to Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Australian media reported.
Two of the helicopter's rotor blades came off and one landed in the hotel pool, media reports said.
The forensic crash unit will work with Australia's transport safety regulator to prepare an accident report, police said.
Russian drone strike kills 12 miners in Ukraine
Five-year-old boy returns to Minnesota after ICE release
Reopening of Gaza's Rafah crossing expected Monday
Winter storm death toll in United States reaches 90
Pakistan says 145 militants killed after attacks in Balochistan
Israeli strikes kill 26 in Gaza, health officials say
US government starts likely brief shutdown as House fails to approve deal
Thousands demonstrate in Minnesota and across US to protest ICE
