Jamaine Punzalan

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<p>American alt-pop singer and internet personality Oliver Tree was aboard one of two helicopters that collided Sunday mid-air in Brazil, leaving all six people aboard the aircraft dead, a police source told AFP.</p><p>The source shared the manifest of each plane and said the victims could not be formally identified yet as they were badly burned in the crash.</p><p>The helicopters collided in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, a western suburb of Rio de Janeiro, then plummeted into the parking lot of an electric car dealership, setting ablaze around 20 cars, firefighters said.</p><p>One of the helicopters was carrying five people, and the other just the pilot.</p><p>The passengers on the same helicopter as Tree included a Brazilian music producer, Argentine video director and Argentine YouTuber Gaspar Prim, known online as Gaspi.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/CAWfzINDxQW/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=982&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A956313%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="800" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>The 32-year-old Tree -- with a distinctive bowl haircut and eccentric, meme-worthy internet persona -- was known for hits such as &quot;Life Goes On,&quot; &quot;Miss You,&quot; and &quot;Alien Boy.&quot;</p><p>He blended music with performance art, pranks and parody, internet trolling and performing high-risk stunts in some of his videos.</p><p>Many fans on social media wondered if reports of his death in the helicopter accident were another one of his elaborate bits.</p><p>Tree has over 11 million monthly listeners on Spotify, with his top songs listened to over 700 million times.</p><p>In recent days his Instagram account featured videos of him in Brazil, where he performed in Sao Paulo on June 6 on his tour of over 30 countries.</p><p>His next show was due in Lisbon on July 1.</p><p>Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere said earlier that there were &quot;foreign nationals on board one of the aircraft,&quot; without giving further details.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-1" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZiBnX1uIV_/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=982&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A1%2C%22os%22%3A956343.0000000001%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="904" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-1" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;A REALLY LOUD EXPLOSION&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Burger King employee Thamires Santos, 27, said he was at work when he heard &quot;a really loud explosion. The shop actually shook.&quot;</p><p>After the collision he saw helicopter parts &quot;flying in all directions.&quot;</p><p>Fire services spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Fabio Contreiras told CNN Brasil at the scene that it was unclear exactly how the accident unfolded.</p><p>&quot;Parts of the aircraft are scattered hundreds of meters away, so the information we have is still very preliminary,&quot; he said. &quot;We really need to get the recordings and videos to understand exactly what happened.&quot;</p><p>Contreiras said rescue workers had discovered one helicopter in flames among the electric cars, with five victims inside.</p><p>A second helicopter found some 100 meters away was carrying only the pilot, who also died.</p><p>&quot;Given the surrounding residences, the accident could have been far more tragic,&quot; said Contreiras.</p><p>He highlighted the challenges in fighting a fire impacting electric vehicles, which contain lithium-ion batteries.</p><p>&quot;When this type of battery catches fire, it releases highly toxic gases and intensifies both the temperature and the severity of the blaze. Extinguishing a fire in one of these vehicles requires three to four times the amount of water needed for a fire in a standard car.&quot;</p><p>Small aircraft crashes are common in Brazil, the world&#x27;s fifth-largest country.</p><p>Last month a small plane crashed into the side of a building in the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte, killing the pilot and copilot.</p><p>According to statistics from the Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (CENIPA) -- not including this latest collision -- there have been 84 aircraft accidents in 2026 so far, leaving 25 people dead.</p>

<p>American alt-pop singer and internet personality Oliver Tree was aboard one of two helicopters that collided Sunday mid-air in Brazil, leaving all six people aboard the aircraft dead, a police source told AFP.</p>

American alt-pop singer and internet personality Oliver Tree was aboard one of two helicopters that collided Sunday mid-air in Brazil, leaving all six people aboard the aircraft dead, a police source told AFP.

US singer Oliver Tree aboard helicopter in deadly mid-air crash in Brazil

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US singer Oliver Tree aboard helicopter in deadly mid-air crash in Brazil

Agence France-Presse

Published June 15, 2026 06:17 AM PHT

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