Oliver Tree Dies in Rio de Janeiro Helicopter Crash

Mid-Air Collision Claims Six Lives

Two helicopters collided in the air before crashing into an electric vehicle yard on Avenida das Américas in Recreio dos Bandeirantes on Sunday morning, according to preliminary information from the Fire Department. The impact set approximately 20 parked cars alight. Six people were killed in total: five aboard one helicopter and the pilot of the second aircraft.

The confirmed victims are Oliver Tree Nickel (passenger), Lucas Vignale (passenger), Gaspar Prim (passenger), Lucas Brito Chaves (passenger), Alexandre Souza (pilot), and Charles Marsillac (pilot). Among those killed was Gaspar Prim, known online as Gaspi, an Argentine YouTuber with nearly 7.5 million followers.

Tree Was in Brazil on World Tour

Oliver Tree was in Brazil as part of his ongoing world tour, having performed in São Paulo on June 6. His next scheduled date was set for Lisbon, Portugal on July 13, marking the start of the European leg of the tour. His last Instagram post, shared on Saturday the 13th, showed him in a studio with other artists.

A Distinctive Voice in Electronic Music

Oliver Tree had built one of the more distinctive careers in modern music, blending alternative, pop, hip-hop, and electronic influences into a sound that defied easy categorization. He had nearly 20 million followers across social media and more than 11 million monthly listeners on Spotify, with tracks accumulating over 700 million streams on the platform. His collaborations across the electronic music world made him a familiar name in the EDM space, and his personality and visual identity made him impossible to ignore regardless of genre.

The case is being handled by the 42nd Police District in Recreio dos Bandeirantes. Brazil's Air Force, through its Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention Center (CENIPA), has been deployed to the site to conduct the initial investigation. Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) has also confirmed it is looking into the circumstances involving the aircraft and pilots.