Get you up to speed: Tourists among six killed after helicopters crash in mid-air fireball explosion over Rio De Janeiro | News World

What remains unclear — It is unknown how the collision between the two helicopters occurred.

Six killed in mid-air collision of two helicopters over Rio de Janeiro

This is the shocking moment two helicopters crash in mid-air and smash into cars, triggering a chain of explosions.

All six people on board the aircraft were killed in the collision on Sunday at 8am local time in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

The flaming wreckage of the helicopters smashed into an abandoned churchyard, and the other plunged into a car park.

Flames spread through parked electric vehicles, causing more explosions.

Oliver Tree was aboard one of the helicopters that crashed in Rio de Janeiro. (Picture SUZANNE CORDEIRO / AFP via Getty Images)

American singer-songwriter Oliver Tree was named in tributes as one of the victims.

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The internet personality is listed on a manifest of six people onboard, but the victims can’t be formally identified yet as they were badly burned in the crash.

The 32-year-old alternative rock artist and social media personality is best remembered for his hit songs Life Goes On, Miss You and ULTRAMAN.

According to CNN Brazil, he was in Rio de Janeiro when the incident occurred.

Local outlet Metróples reported that Tree and passengers Lucas Vignale, Gaspar Prim, Lucas Brito Chaves were in one helicopter with pilot Alexandre Souza, while the other was piloted only by Charles Marsillac.

Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere said that there were ‘foreign nationals on board one of the aircraft,’ without giving further details.

Fire services spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Fabio Contreiras told CNN Brasil at the scene that it was unclear exactly how they collided.

‘Parts of the aircraft are scattered hundreds of meters away, so the information we have is still very preliminary.

Contreiras said rescue workers had discovered one helicopter in flames among the electric cars, with five victims inside.

Firefighters working at the site of a helicopter crash in the Recreio dos Bandeirantes neighbourhood (Picture: AFP)

The second helicopter, found some 100 meters away, was carrying only the pilot, who also died.

Contreiras said the fact that the aircraft had crashed in the parking area had prevented a higher death toll.

‘Given the surrounding residences, the accident could have been far more tragic,’ he said.

He highlighted the challenges in fighting a fire impacting electric vehicles, which contain lithium-ion batteries.

‘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.’

At least six people died after two helicopters crashed in a mid-air collision, firefighters said. (Photo by Tercio TEIXEIRA / AFP via Getty Images)

Authorities said in a statement: ‘The Brazilian Air Force were called to carry out the initial action of the occurrence involving two aircraft, registration PP-MAC and PR-DJJ, in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, in the Southwest Zone of Rio de Janeiro (RJ).

‘During the initial action, qualified and accredited professionals apply specific techniques for data collection and confirmation, preservation of elements, initial verification of damage caused to the aircraft or by the aircraft, in addition to the collection of other information necessary for the investigation.’

According to statistics from the Centre 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.

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