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By Alia Shoaib
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A helicopter that appears to have been stolen crashed into the roof of a hotel in Australia, killing the pilot.
Queensland Police said that emergency services responded to the scene at around 1:50 a.m. on Monday morning after the twin-engine helicopter crashed into the Hilton DoubleTree hotel in Cairns.
Nautilus Aviation, the company the helicopter belonged to, said it was an "unauthorized flight" and that all of its pilots had been accounted for, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
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Authorities said that investigations were underway to identify the pilot.
"Nautilus Aviation are working closely with Queensland Police, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and other authorities as they investigate the unauthorized use of one of our helicopters in the early hours of this morning," the company said in an emailed statement to Newsweek. "As we continue to fully support the ongoing investigation, we will not be making further comments at this time."
A fire broke out on the roof of the hotel after the crash and the building was evacuated as a precaution, a police statement said.
Police said that no one on the ground sustained any injuries. However, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that authorities said that two hotel guests—a man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s—were taken to Cairns Hospital in a stable condition and have now been discharged.
ABC reported that two of the helicopter's rotor blades came off and landed on an esplanade and in the hotel pool.
Queensland Police Service Acting Chief Superintendent Shane Holmes said investigations with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) were ongoing.
ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said that the bureau is primarily focused on transport safety, and will be looking at evidence to determine "whether this was a transport safety event or something different."
Commenting on media reports that the flight may have been unauthorized he said that the incident could "be a regulatory and police matter more so than an ATSB matter."
"Once we do have an identity of the person involved then we'll start looking a little bit more closely on all the things that may have contributed to what unfolded last night," he said.
In an emailed statement to Newsweek, the ATSB said: "The ATSB notes the flight has been described as 'unauthorized.' The ATSB conducts 'no blame' transport safety investigations, and does not investigate for the purposes of taking administrative, regulatory or criminal action. Over the coming days we will seek to determine if this accident was a transport safety matter."
If the incident is determined not to be a transport safety matter, the ATSB may choose to discontinue its investigation and hand it over to police or the appropriate authorities.
Newsweek reached out to Queensland police for comment via email.
Witnesses described to the ABC how they heard a loud bang as the helicopter crashed.
Images from the scene show a broken window at the hotel as well as some of the wreckage from the helicopter lying on the ground outside the building.
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