Alternative singer and internet personality among six who died when two helicopters collided over Rio de Janeiro
The American musician Oliver Tree has died in a helicopter crash in Brazil at the age of 32, according to reports.
Two helicopters collided over Rio de Janeiro on Sunday morning and crashed in the city’s western zone, killing all six people onboard, including Tree, several Brazilian media outlets reported.
Rio de Janeiro’s military fire department said one of the helicopters crashed on a car dealership, where several electric vehicles were parked, igniting a fire that was extinguished.
Officials said an investigation was under way to determine the cause of the collision.
Tree, 32, who was in Brazil on a world tour, was aboard one of the helicopters that crashed, leaving all occupants dead, a police source told AFP.
The alternative singer and internet personality was listed as one of six people on the manifests of the two aircraft shared by the source, who said the victims could not be formally identified yet as they were badly burned in the crash.
The passengers alongside the singer included a Brazilian music producer, Argentine video director and Argentine YouTuber Gaspar Prim, known online as Gaspi.
The helicopters collided mid-air in the western suburb of Recreio dos Bandeirantes before plummeting into the car park of an electric car dealership, setting ablaze about 20 cars, according to firefighters.
One of the helicopters was carrying five people and the other only the pilot. There were no survivors.
Tree – with a distinctive bowl haircut and internet persona – was known for songs including Life Goes On, Miss You, and Alien Boy.
He has more than 11 million monthly listeners on Spotify, with his top songs listened to more than 700m times.
He was due to play more than 70 shows across 30 countries on seven continents during his world tour.
He performed in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 4 June, and on Saturday shared a video on his Instagram playing football in a Brazilian neighbourhood.
In 2024 he was nominated for the international song Brit award alongside the German producer Robin Schulz for their song Miss You.
The track peaked at No 3 in the UK singles chart.
In 2020 he broke the Guinness world record for the largest kick scooter at 4.16 metres tall and 3.13m long. According to the Guinness world record website the feat was achieved to “fulfil a lifelong dream”.
