Two private helicopters collided in flight above Rio de Janeiroin the neighborhood ofRecreio dos Bandeirantes, crashing onto the parking lot of a dealership car electricalas seen in the video above. The accident occurred in the morning of Sunday 14 June: the budget is 6 deadthat is, all the occupants of the two aircraft – a Bell 206 and an AS350, according to initial rumors. The American rapper would also be among the victims Oliver Tree and the Argentine YouTuber Gaspar Prim Díaz.
According to what was reconstructed by the Fire Brigade, the two helicopters collided in the air at 08:59 (local time, 13:59 in Italy) while they were flying in the same area, along the Avenida das Américas, losing altitude almost at the same time. They were on board one of the aircraft five peopleon the other only the pilot: unfortunately none of the six survived. Rescue teams initially found the five bodies inside the first aircraft, while the sixth victim was found in the second helicopter, which crashed about 100 meters away from the first.
The impact on the ground occurred right in the forecourt of an electric car dealer, where thefire involved about twenty cars. The flames, fueled by lithium batteries of the vehicles, were particularly difficult to tame for the rescuers, who spoke of toxic gases and a much higher than normal amount of water needed to turn off every single car.
According to what Al Jazeera reports, the spokesperson of the Fire Brigade explained that the area is densely populated and that the death toll could have been much higher if the two aircraft had not fallen right in the parking area: due to the strong collision, the debris from the two helicopters were also found in hundreds of meters from the point of impact.
A mechanic in the area, mentioned by NBC News, said he saw one of the two helicopters already engulfed in flames and that he noticed, shortly before impact on the ground, a person ejecting themselves from the other aircraft. The police confirmed that Oliver Tree (32 years old) e Gaspar Prim Díaz (23 years old) were among the names of the passenger list handed over to the aeronautical authorities, but at the moment could not be identified with certainty the other bodies recovered. The American artist, a few days earlier, had performed at Buenos Aires and he had published a video on social media while he was playing football in a neighborhood of Rio.
The Brazilian authorities have therefore opened ainvestigation to establish the dynamics of the collision, also through the analysis of flight records. According to rumors, the helicopters were carrying out transfer flights to Angra dos Reis, in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
It must be said that accidents involving helicopters and small aircraft are not that rare in Brazil: according to data from CENIPA (Centre for the Investigation and Prevention of Aviation Accidents) cited by Al Jazeera, only in 2026 (before this crash) they had already registered 84 plane crashes in the country, a number that is also linked to the widespread use of helicopters as a means of private transport in Brazilian metropolises.
