A HELICOPTER has crashed into the roof of a Hilton hotel sparking a huge fireball and evacuations.
The chopper smashed into the roof of the luxury Double Tree Hotel in Cairns, Australia, at about 1.50am local time.
6
6
6
6
The pilot was the only person on board at the time and their condition is currently unknown, local media reported.
The hotel sits on the waterfront of the city and is a subsidiary of the American giant Hilton.
All the 400 people in the hotel were evacuated with any fuel lying around having the “potential to explode”.
Witnesses described a red helicopter flying away from the hotel and then flying back “straight into the building”.
A piece of the helicopter lay on the berm outside the building as residents gathered near it during the evacuation.
One person walking by on the street immediately after the crash described the scene as “madness”.
The clips showed red fire lighting up the top of the building against the dark night.
A siren wailed to evacuate residents of the eight story building.
She said: “It’s smashed right in.”
“Boy that was going fast the helicopter too… a red helicopter… it went past twice.
“It was just going out of control that thing was.”
A small fire could also be seen on the ground level of the hotel below where the chopper had landed.
Queensland Police said the helicopter crash caused them to put in an exclusion zone to keep the public away from the aviation crash.
The Public Safety Preservation Act (PSPA) zone includes Esplanade, Minnie Street, Abbott Street and Florence Street.
They said: “The building was evacuated as a precaution and there were no injuries sustained by people on the ground.”
6
More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online
Thesun.co.uk is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thesun and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.
Discussion about this post