The incident occurred on the night from Sunday to Monday at approximately 01:50 local time (17:50 Polish time on Sunday). A helicopter crashed into the roof of the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel. in Cairns, Queensland Australia.
The pilot, who was alone on board, died at the scene. About 400 people were evacuated from the hotel.
Australia. Helicopter crashes into hotel roof
Witness Amanda Kay said the plane was flying very low. “When it hit the building, there was a huge explosion, it was huge explosion – she reported.
Two people who were in the room closest to the accident site were hospitalized due to smoke inhalation from the fire. The fire has been brought under control only in the morning.
Queensland Emergency Services Commissioner Caitlin Denning said: the plane's propellers “broke off”“One of them landed on Cairns Street and the other propeller was in the hotel pool on the ground floor and was on fire,” she told local media. “There were reports that the sound of the explosion was like a bomb explosion and many hotel residents started to panic when they saw the fire and smoke,” she added.
Helicopter crash in Australia. Possible causes
Australian Transport Safety Bureau Commissioner Angus Mitchell said that at the time of the crash the flight conditions were difficult. Visibility was poor and it was raining. “Our job now is to look at the facts and establish the sequence of events,” he told reporters. “We want to understand what the helicopter was doing before the crash and what the nature of the flight was,” he added.
A team of government experts from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau was dispatched to the scene. The Bureau of Safety appealed to witnesses to come forward and to provide “photos or footage of the helicopter in any phase of flight.”
Stay up to date and become one of over 200 thousand followers of our fanpage – like Interia Events on Facebook and comment on our articles there!