Crime

Two helicopters collided mid-air over the western Rio de Janeiro suburb of Recreio dos Bandeirantes at 8:59am on Sunday morning, killing all six people aboard. One helicopter — a Bell 206B JetRanger III — crashed into the parking lot of an electric car dealership, igniting a fire that destroyed around 20 vehicles before being extinguished. The other aircraft — an Aerospatiale AS 350B2 — also came down in the same area. American singer Oliver Tree Nickell, known professionally as Oliver Tree, was listed on the passenger manifest of one of the helicopters. Police have confirmed he is on the list but say bodies cannot yet be formally identified as they were badly burned in the crash. Argentine content creator Gaspar Prim Diaz — known as Gaspi — was also listed as a passenger. Brazilian music producer Lucas Brito Chaves and Argentine music video director Lucas Vignale were also named on the manifest. The sole occupant of the second helicopter was pilot Charles Marsillac. An eyewitness said one passenger jumped from one of the aircraft before it hit the ground. Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere confirmed foreign nationals were aboard. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the collision. Oliver Tree had performed in Sao Paulo on June 4 and posted a video on Instagram on Saturday showing him playing football in a Rio neighbourhood — his final social media post before the crash

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