Police say the death of a man who fell from the seventh-floor balcony of a high-rise resort in Cairns is being treated as suspicious.
A crime scene is in place after the 24-year-old fell from the Rydges complex on Abbott Street about 1:30am on Sunday.
He was found dead at the scene after landing on an awning on the first floor.
A 19-year-old man, who police said was sharing the hotel room with the deceased, was taken to the Cairns Hospital after suffering an arm injury.
Detective Senior Sergeant Ed Kinbacher said police would be asking him to assist with their inquiries.
"The circumstance of those [injuries] will have to be explained," he said.
"When two individuals were in a room together and one falls in this circumstance, it is always … an open question as to how that arose."
Senior Sergeant Kinbacher said the two men were colleagues from the Tablelands, and were celebrating in Cairns over the Easter long weekend.
"They'd only arrived down from the Tablelands that day, so they've checked into the motel that afternoon and this incident unfolded within 10 to 12 hours after they arrived," he said.
He said alcohol would likely have been involved.
Senior Sergeant Kinbacher said police would conduct a forensic examination of the room, and were speaking with witnesses.
"At this stage the investigation is open-ended — the circumstances of this need to be established," he said.
"Is this an accident? Is this something that is self-inflicted? Or is it a third-party involvement?
"We have spoken to a number of witnesses, primarily Tablelands youth, who were in Cairns celebrating for the weekend."
Senior Sergeant Kinbacher said the man's body was found by hotel staff and holidaymakers staying at the resort.
"[He] fell basically outside an occupant's room, so obviously a quite shocking event for those people involved," he said.
Senior Sergeant Kinbacher said he had spoken with the victim's family, who are well-known in the Tablelands community.
"This is a shocking event for them and obviously unexpected," he said.
Police are expected to guard the scene for several days as the investigation continues.
