14 Aug 2024

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton

From Nine To Noon, 9:45 am on 14 August 2024

Police in far North Queensland say a young New Zealander was piloting the helicopter which crashed into the in tourist strip of the tropical holiday city of Cairns.

Blake Wilson worked for the Nautilus company that owned the helicopter. He had a commercial licence to fly in New Zealand, but not in Australia. Mr Blake died in the crash.

Police have declared an emergency around the DoubleTree by Hilton on Cairns Esplanade and evacuated up to 400 people after the crash which happened shortly before 2am, a Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) spokeswoman said.

Photo: Supplied / Queensland Ambulance Service

Karen Middleton is Political Editor of the Guardian Australia