epa11546230 Emergency service works are seen at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel after a helicopter crashed into its roof, in Cairns, Australia 12 August 2024. Police have declared a Public Safety Preservation Act in Cairns after the chopper crashed into the building shortly before 2am on Monday, August 12. EPA-EFE/BRIAN CASSEY AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT Emergency crews were called at about 2 a.m. on Monday (1600 GMT 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 HLT.N 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.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Lincoln Feast.)