US musician Oliver Tree dies in copter crash in Brazil

Musician Oliver Tree was among six people who died when the helicopter he was travelling in collided with another in Brazil on Sunday, June 14, report BBC and several international media outlets.

The 32-year-old had been on a world tour when the crash occurred over Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sunday. One of the helicopters then fell onto the car park of a dealership, setting around 20 vehicles ablaze.

Footage published by Brazilian media shows one of the helicopters dropping from the sky, as well as flames and thick smoke rising from the crash site.

Authorities say an investigation into the cause of the collision is now under way.

The Military Fire Department of the State of Rio de Janeiro said it was called to the crash site around 09:00 local time (12:00 GMT).
Argentine content creator Gaspar Prim Diaz - also known as Gaspi - was also believed to have been in one of the helicopters, according to the Associated Press.

The other passengers on the helicopter's manifest were Lucas Brito Chaves, Lucas Vignale and pilot Alexandre Souza. The crew manifest for the second aircraft lists only the pilot, Charles Marsillac.

Tree - born Oliver Tree Nickell in Santa Cruz, California in 1993 - first rose to fame in 2016 after going viral on social media. With his distinctive bowl haircut, he was known for his numbers including Life Goes On, Miss You and Alien Boy.

Tree had just begun a world tour, with his most recent show in São Paulo, Brazil on 6 June. He was next scheduled to perform in Lisbon, in Portugal, on 1 July and had been due to play dates in Glasgow, Manchester and London in September.

Jackass star Steve-O, real name Stephen Glover, also paid tribute to the late singer online, sharing a photograph of the two of them together.