<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>326191</docID> <postdate>2024-08-12 10:19:44</postdate> <headline>Pilot dead after helicopter crashes into hotel’s roof</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-326198" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240812119535917978-original-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="600" /></p> <caption>A helicopter crashed into the roof of a hotel in Queensland's far north. (Brian Cassey/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Savannah Meacham</strong> in Brisbane</span></p> <p><strong>A pilot has died in a fiery helicopter crash on the roof of a hotel in far north Queensland.</strong></p> <p>Emergency services rushed to the scene after reports the twin-engine chopper hit the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Cairns before 2am on Monday.</p> <p>Police have confirmed the pilot - the helicopter's sole occupant - died at the scene.</p> <p>"Forensic investigations are under way to formally identify them," police said in a statement.</p> <p>The crash prompted police to declare a Public Safety Preservation Act, an exclusion zone encompassing the city's Esplanade and Minnie, Aplin and Grafton streets.</p> <p>Propellers from the helicopter dislodged during the crash, with one landing on the main street outside the hotel and the other in the hotel pool, Queensland Ambulance Service said.</p> <p>The crash resulted in a fire which prevented emergency crews entering immediately, Queensland Ambulance's Caitlin Denning said.</p> <p>"At the time, it was too unsafe for us to enter the hotel to view the (impact site)," she told reporters.</p> <p>She said there were frightening reports the impact sounded like an explosion.</p> <p>"There were reports of it sounding like a bomb, and seeing the fire and smoke, a lot of the occupants of the hotel were unsure of the situation," Ms Denning said.</p> <p>"There is a lot of unease here."</p> <p>Between 300 and 400 people were evacuated from the site and taken to another hotel in Cairns' city centre.</p> <p>Two hotel guests, a man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s, were taken to Cairns Hospital in a stable condition.</p> <p>The exclusion zone remains in place and people are being warned to avoid the area.</p> <p>Officers are on scene investigating the circumstances of the incident.</p> <p>The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is also deploying crash investigators to the scene.</p> <p>"The ATSB will investigate a helicopter accident at a Cairns hotel early on Monday morning," the agency said in a statement.</p> </body>