American singer Oliver Tree listed aboard helicopter collision in Brazil

Two helicopters collided midair over Rio de Janeiro on Sunday morning before crashing in the city’s western zone, killing all six people on board, according to local firefighters, AP reported.

According to the Rio de Janeiro’s Military Fire Department, one of the helicopters crashed into the parking lot of a car dealership, where several electric vehicles caught fire. Firefighters later extinguished the blaze. Police said that American singer Oliver Tree was listed among the passengers provided to aviation authorities. However, officials have not yet been able to identify the bodies recovered from the crash site, and no official confirmation of the victims’ identities has been made.

Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the collision.

Tree performed in Buenos Aires on June 4 and shared a video on Instagram on Saturday showing himself playing soccer in a Brazilian neighborhood. Argentine streaming channel Blender reported that Gaspar Prim Díaz, popularly known as Gaspi, was also aboard one of the helicopters. The 23-year-old content creator had more than 2.8 million subscribers on YouTube.

“Thanks for your art, your magic and your sensibility, every one of us will miss you,” Blender said in a post on X.

Fernandes de Freitas, a tire repair worker who witnessed the incident, said he saw one of the helicopters engulfed in flames after the aircraft collided in midair. He also claimed to have seen one of the passengers jump from the other helicopter before it crashed.

“It was terrifying, absolutely horrifying,” De Freitas said.

Investigators are continuing efforts to identify the victims and determine the circumstances that led to the fatal collision.