A tragic mid-air collision over Rio de Janeiro resulted in a passenger leaping from a helicopter carrying YouTuber Oliver Tree. This devastating crash involved two helicopters and resulted in the deaths of four friends and two pilots.
Before the accident, Oliver Tree was documenting his adventures across Brazil through a series of heartfelt videos, which were posted online just hours before the fatal incident.
The American musician, aged 32, lost his life on a Sunday morning while in Brazil as part of his extensive world tour covering 30 countries.
Known to many as Tree, Oliver and five others perished in the collision that took place above an electric car dealership in Rio.
This tragic event claimed the lives of Tree, Argentinian YouTuber Gaspar Prim, 23, popularly known as Gaspi, Argentine director and screenwriter Lucas Vignale, 29, Brazilian music producer Lucas Brito Chaves, 21, and the pilots Alexandre Souza and Charles Marsillac.
One witness described seeing a helicopter in flames after the collision and saw a passenger jump to his death from the other aircraft before both hit the ground.
‘It was terrifying, absolutely horrifying,’ tyre worker Fernandes de Freitas said.
But days earlier he had shared poignant footage of himself playing football as World Cup fever sweeps across the South American country, which has won the championship five times.
Tree was also filmed cooking steaks, riding a motorbike through Rio and singing with local influencers in videos captioned ‘American for the 1st time in Brazil’ and ‘Gringo 24 horas no Brasil.’
Photos showed the devastating aftermath of the crash, which saw the two aircrafts and vehicles on the ground burst into flames with at least one person on the aircraft trying to jump to safety.
Officials are now scouring through the wreckage to determine how the tragedy happened.
The 32-year-old, who had 2.6million followers on Instagram and had appeared on shows with British YouTube star KSI, had just started a world tour across 30 countries.
Tree, who first rose to fame as a teenager in 2010, was due to tour Europe in July before heading to the US, Australia, and China.
Internet star and singer Oliver Tree (L) was seen travelling through Brazil on the trip of a lifetime in bittersweet videos just days before he was tragically killed in a helicopter crash. Pictured with YouTube star Iae Break days before the deadly incident
Photos showed the devastating aftermath of the crash, which saw aircraft and vehicles on the ground burst into flames, with officials now scouring through the wreckage to determine the cause
An aerial view shows the aftermath of a helicopter crash in the Recreio dos Bandeirantes neighbourhood in Rio
A man walks past parts of a helicopter following a deadly collision between two helicopters
His death sparked an outpouring of grief from fans and fellow content creators, with KSI saying he felt ‘genuinely sick’ on hearing the news in a heartfelt tribute.
Posting photos of the pair together on social media, KSI wrote: ‘Can’t believe I’m actually having to type this. You’re 32 man. You should still be here. You still had so much life to live.
‘So much music to make. So much content to make. You’re a legend and will always be a legend. Still doesn’t feel real. Genuinely feel sick. I love you bro.’
It came just months after Tree revealed none of his estate would be passed onto family, claiming all of his money would instead go into a foundation for child artists.
Tree had been due to perform in the U.S. and Europe over the next few months as part of his ‘Love You Madly, Hate You Badly World’s First’ tour, and had been enjoying a week off in Brazil when the tragedy happened.
In a clip posted Tuesday, Tree compared dance moves with Brazilian content creator Akihito in an exchange he described as ‘absolute cinema.’
Akihito wrote in a message (translated from Portuguese) on his Instagram Stories Sunday: ‘I’m so sorry to all of Oliver’s family and friends because he was very loved, incredible, and talented.’
In a separate post, Tree was seen singing and dancing with Brazilian content creator Lucas Vinícius.
Tree’s death sparked an outpouring of grief from fans and fellow content creators, with KSI saying he felt ‘genuinely sick’ on hearing the news in a heartfelt tribute
KSI was among those who paid memorial to the charismatic late singer, saying it was surreal as the reality of the grim situation set in
‘Brazilian rock is a million times better than American rock,’ Tree captioned the post.
Vinícius in an Instagram Stories memorial (translated from Portuguese) on Sunday said the news of Oliver’s passing marked a ‘reminder our fragility is delivered to us in such a heartbreaking way.’
He said that his ‘brief encounter’ with the late singer taught him ‘a lesson in what it means to be intense and respect our inherent desire to connect without constraints.
‘To dive headfirst into free will and the cultures that the universe kindly makes available to us and extract the maximum from everything.’
Vinícius said he took comfort knowing that Tree left a lasting legacy with those who he connected with.
‘The comfort will be knowing that I, and anyone fortunate enough to have our paths intertwined with yours, inevitably carry with us and preserve a part of a free and enviable spirit that was put to rest far too soon,’ Vinícius said.
In a clip with YouTube star Iae Break posted Saturday, Tree was seen playing soccer, cooking, getting his bangs trimmed and showing off a replica of the FIFA World Cup trophy.
Break posted a clip to Instagram Stories with a series of crying emojis and a selfie that indicated he had wept amid the tragic news of Tree’s passing.
Tree chronicled his last days on social media prior to his death at 32 in a helicopter collision in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Sunday. Pictured last month headed to the EDC Las Vegas
In a seperate post he was seen singing and dancing with Brazilian content creator Lucas Vinícius
In one clip posted Tuesday, Tree compared dance moves with Brazilian content creator Akihito in an exchange he described as ‘absolute cinema.’
He added, ‘I can’t believe you guys are gone’ in an adjacent post of him posing with the beloved late entertainer.
The enigmatic late performer donned a Shrek costume for an April 24 interview on the Zach Sang Show in support of his album Love You Madly Hate You Badly.
He said in the interview of his material, ‘I don’t believe that any of the wealth or the things that get made from it is mine.
‘And so when I die, set it up, my will is set up that when I pass, my family, no one’s gonna get a penny; if I have a wife or kids or anything, [they’re] not getting a f***ing penny.’
Tree, who was not married and did not have any children, continued, ‘I’ll get my kids through college, that the agreement, but they’re not going to be a silver spoon. They’re taken care of “because my dad worked on some stuff in the 2000s.”‘
In a clip with YouTube star Iae Break posted Saturday, both were seen flashing peace signs
The enigmatic late performer donned a Shrek costume for an April 24 interview on the Zach Sang Show in support of his album Love You Madly Hate You Badly
Tree said of posthumous recognition less than two months ago, ‘People will finally appreciate my stupid f***ing videos, my f***ing stupid songs – that’s when people appreciate you when you’re not there anymore’
Tree said that he wanted to put his money back into the arts following his passing.
‘The idea is when I die, all the money’s gonna go back to artists,’ Tree said. ‘So I’ve set up a foundation. It’s called Dr. Oliver Tree’s Art Grants for Baby Geniuses.
‘And it’s set up so that basically the interest generated from my music will take mostly that, but there’s also room for other money because when I die, my art will continue to have residuals – and probably be worth more than it is now.’
Tree spoke about how ‘historically speaking,’ interest ‘in artist’s work go up after they die.’
He added, ‘People will finally appreciate my stupid f***ing videos, my f***ing stupid songs – that’s when people appreciate you when you’re not there anymore.
‘Anyways, they might not, doesn’t even make a difference … the art will continue to make money no matter what.’