A helicopter pilot has died after crashing into an Australian hotel

A pilot has died after the plane they were traveling in crashed into the roof of a hotel in Cairns, north Queensland.

The plane landed at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel around 01:50am local time on Monday (16:50B Sunday), causing a fire that forced the evacuation of hundreds of guests.

Queensland Police confirmed that only one person on board the helicopter died at the scene.

Two hotel guests – a man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s – were taken to hospital in stable condition, state ambulance officials said.

Amanda Kay, who was staying at the Grand Esplanade Hotel in Cairns, described seeing the helicopter flying “very low”, without lights in the cloudy weather.

“[It] turned and hit the building,” he said, adding that the plane “exploded”.

Two of the helicopter’s rotor blades were impacted, landing in the surrounding area and in the hotel’s pool, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Another guest staying at the hotel, Alastair Salmon, told the ABC he woke up to a “deafening noise”.

Mr Salmon, from London, said after being ejected from the area he first thought the helicopter’s rotor blade was like a light bulb.

“Then we looked up and you could see this big hole in the window of the building,” he told the ABC.

The roads around the hotel have been cordoned off and police have declared a state of emergency.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau says it is sending investigators to the scene.