International

Pilot attended party before crashing stolen chopper

Published

2 years ago

August 13, 2024

Advocate News Nigeria

Pilot attended party before crashing stolen chopper

• Moment the chopper crashed into a hotel in Northern Australia

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• The chopper crashed into a hotel in northern Australia

A pilot who died after they crashed a stolen helicopter into a hotel in Australia had attended a party with staff members the night before, their employer has said.

The helicopter belonged to Queensland-based helicopter tour agency Nautilus Aviation who said the employee had been celebrating at a private send-off with colleagues hours before the crash.

Nautilus added that the individual was licensed to fly helicopters in New Zealand but had never flown in Australia.

The pilot was killed in the accident, while two hotel guests were taken to hospital in a stable condition.

In a statement to the BBC, Nautilus said the individual had recently been promoted to a “ground crew position” at another of the company’s bases.

On Sunday night, he joined colleagues at a private send-off, which was also attended by off-duty pilots. Nautilus clarified that this was “not a work event and was coordinated by friends”.

Nautilus added that the individual later gained “unauthorised access to our helicopter hangar”.

The helicopter hit the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in the northern Queensland city of Cairns at around 01:50 local time on Monday (16:50 BST Sunday), sparking a fire and forcing the evacuation of about 400 guests.

Authorities say the only occupant of the helicopter died at the scene, and two hotel guests – a man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s – were taken to hospital in a stable condition.

Amanda Kay, who was staying in the hotel on the main esplanade in Cairns, described seeing a helicopter flying “extra low”, without lights in rainy weather.

“[It] has turned round and hit the building,” she said, adding that the aircraft “blew up”.

Another bystander said she saw the helicopter fly past the hotel twice in the moments before the collision.

“Boy that was going fast, that helicopter. Unbelievable,” a woman said, in video showing the fiery aftermath of the crash.

“It was just going out of control, that thing was.”

Two of the helicopter’s rotor blades came off on impact, landing on the esplanade and in the hotel pool, according to Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS).

Nautilus Aviation said in its statement that it had completed interviews with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and the Queensland Police Service (QPS), and had cooperated with full transparency on its disclosure of the events leading up to and following the incident.

“We offer our heartfelt condolences to the individual’s family and all who have been affected by this tragedy and continue to offer our support to our employees during this very challenging period,” the statement said.

“We will continue to work very closely with QPS and the ATSB as they investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.”

Located in northern Queensland, the city of Cairns is a popular tourist destination due to its proximity to the Great Barrier Reef. (BBC)

International

Security Alert: CCTV Footage of White House shooting suspect released By Trump goes viral

Published

3 weeks ago

April 26, 2026

Advocate News Nigeria

The suspect

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The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has released CCTV footage and images of a suspect linked to a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington.

The released video, shared shortly before the President spoke to the press, reportedly shows the suspect entering the ballroom of the Washington Hilton and bypassing a security metal detector before armed security personnel moved in to intercept him.

Trump described the individual as a “would-be assassin,” alleging that he was heavily armed and managed to breach a key security checkpoint.

According to BBC reporting, the President said the suspect forced his way past screening procedures while carrying multiple weapons.

Photographs also released by the President show a shirtless man lying face down in a lobby area with his hands restrained behind his back, believed to be the suspect involved.

Authorities confirmed that the suspect is now in custody. Trump also stated that a law enforcement officer was shot during the incident but survived due to wearing a bulletproof vest.

The shooting occurred on Saturday night during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, an annual event attended by journalists, government officials, and other dignitaries.

The incident caused panic at the venue, leading to the evacuation of guests and officials.

Investigations are ongoing to determine the motive behind the attack and how the security breach occurred.

International

U.S., Iran agree two-week ceasefire as Iran reopens Strait of Hormuz

Published

1 month ago

April 8, 2026

Advocate News Nigeria

Strait of Hormuz

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Iran has confirmed a two-week ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, the Tasnim news agency, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported early on Wednesday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be possible for two weeks in coordination with Iran’s armed forces “and with due consideration of technical limitations.”

Trump had made reopening the waterway a condition for the ceasefire and had threatened to target Iran’s energy sector and infrastructure, including bridges, if Tehran failed to comply, setting a deadline of 0000 GMT.

The Strait of Hormuz, crucial to global oil and gas trade, has been largely closed since the United States and Israel launched large-scale attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.

According to a senior U.S. official, Israel will also adhere to what Trump described as a “double sided CEASEFIRE.”

Pakistan, which has mediated between Tehran and Washington, said that an immediate ceasefire between Iran and the US had taken effect.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on X that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the U.S., along with their allies, had agreed to an “immediate ceasefire everywhere,” including in Lebanon.

“I warmly welcome the sagacious gesture and extend deepest gratitude to the leadership of both the countries and invite their delegations to Islamabad on Friday … to further negotiate for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes,” Sharif said.

Trump earlier said Sharif had asked him to refrain from carrying out the threatened attacks.

The U.S. has received a 10-point proposal from Iran and believed it offered a “workable basis” for negotiations, Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social.

According to The New York Times, the plan calls for lifting all sanctions imposed on Iran. (dpa/NAN)

International

Earthquake kills 8 members of same family in Afghanistan

Published

1 month ago

April 4, 2026

Advocate News Nigeria

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An earthquake that struck Afghanistan overnight killed eight members of the same family in Kabul province, the health ministry said on Saturday.

The 5.8-magnitude quake struck at 8.42 pm (1612 GMT) on Friday at a depth of 186 kilometres (115 miles) at the epicentre in northeastern Badakhshan province, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Shaking was felt in multiple parts of the country, including the capital Kabul, according to AFP journalists.

“In the Gosfand Dara area of Kabul Province, eight members of a family died as a result of the earthquake,” Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman said in a message to media.

He added that a child aged around two years old was the only survivor from the household and the country’s disaster management agency said the boy had been injured in the tremor.

Afghanistan is frequently jolted by earthquakes, particularly along the Hindu Kush mountain range near where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates meet.

In August, a shallow magnitude 6 earthquake wiped out mountainside villages and killed more than 2,200 people in eastern Afghanistan, making it the deadliest tremor in the country’s recent history.

AFP