Ambulance said emergency services were called to Hilton's Double Tree hotel on the Queensland city's main waterfront at about 1.50am on Monday.

A spokesperson confirmed that two rotor blades from the helicopter fell onto the road and the hotel’s swimming pool. Queensland Police said the pilot died at the scene and a forensic investigation is underway to formally identify the pilot.

Police said the pilot was the only person on board the twin-engine helicopter. The ambulance service said between 300 and 400 people were evacuated from the hotel and “no one on the ground was injured”.

Two people inside the hotel – a man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s – were taken to Cairns Hospital in a stable condition. Police said the crash caused a fire on the roof of the hotel.

Social media video showed flames on the roof of the building. “A helicopter just crashed into a building,” a person says in a recording posted on Facebook.

Queensland Ambulance Service official Caitlin Denning said about 300 to 400 people were being evacuated from the Double Tree hotel when ambulance crews arrived.

Hoang Anh (according to Guardian, Sky News, Reuters)