Helicopter collision in Rio kills singer Oliver Tree, YouTuber Gaspi and four others

Two helicopters collided in flight on Sunday morning over the Recreio dos Bandeirantes neighborhood in west Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. All six people on board the two aircraft died. The accident drew immediate attention because of the high-profile passengers: US alternative pop artist Oliver Tree, 32; Argentine YouTube creator Gaspar Prim Díaz, known as "Gaspi", 23; and Argentine video director Lucas Vignale. Brazilian music producer Lucas Brito Chaves and both pilots also died.

The crash

The helicopters collided at roughly 100 meters altitude. One fell onto the parking lot of an electric-car dealership and exploded; the other crashed inverted about 100 meters away. Witnesses described a violent explosion and an intense fire that consumed at least 20 vehicles. The presence of lithium-ion batteries made firefighting especially hazardous: fire services spokesman Lt. Col. Fabio Contreiras said the batteries released toxic gases and required several times the normal amount of water to extinguish.

Brazilian authorities said formal identification of the victims will take time because the bodies were burned beyond visual recognition. The Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (CENIPA) has opened an investigation into the cause, looking at possible mechanical failure, weather conditions, or human error.

Gaspi: a young star's journey

Gaspar Prim Díaz began posting videos as a teenager and built an audience of more than 2.8 million YouTube subscribers and 3.5 million Instagram followers. His provocative street interviews earned him a loyal following, but also led to some content being removed by platforms. In 2022 he was named "YouTuber of the Year" at the Coscu Army Awards, a major Latin American streaming honor.

Not long after, he stepped away from social media, later citing burnout and obsessive-compulsive disorder. In an interview with Jordi Wild on The Wild Project he described the intensity of his OCD.

I would be walking and if I didn't take a step back, I thought my mom would die. So I could be 30 minutes just to walk a block.

He returned in 2024 with a video titled "La vuelta de Gaspi" that collected four million views in under two months. A physical transformation accompanied the comeback — he shed roughly 20 kilograms — and he participated in Ibai Llanos' boxing event "La Velada del Año V", where he lost to Spanish streamer Perxitaa by technical knockout. Most recently he had launched a series called "Gaspi visita tu hogar" on the Blender channel.

Oliver Tree's final tour

Oliver Tree was on a world tour following the release of his fourth album, "Love You Madly Hate You Badly". He had performed in São Paulo on June 6 and was scheduled to play Lisbon on July 1, followed by shows in Madrid and Barcelona on July 3 and 4. Known for his bowl-cut hair, absurdist humor, and viral-ready sound, Tree straddled pop and alternative aesthetics.

His online footprint was large: 17 million TikTok followers, 6 million YouTube subscribers, 3 million Instagram followers, and 11 million monthly Spotify listeners. Primavera Tours, which was organizing his Spanish dates, called him "an artist with a very peculiar visual universe" that "mutated from album to album, always moving between joke and hit."

Outpouring of grief

News of the crash rippled through the Spanish-language streaming community within minutes. Ibai Llanos, who had worked closely with Gaspi on the Velada del Año and other projects, described the loss as "absolute misfortune."

You were one of the most wonderful and talented people I have ever met. What an unjust life this is.

El Rubius, another top Spanish creator, learned of the death while broadcasting live. Visibly shaken, he told his viewers he was ending the stream and added, "I don't understand anything." Fellow Argentine streamer Coscu recalled Gaspi's recent efforts to adopt healthier habits. Music producer Bizarrap and singer Nicki Nicole posted tributes to Lucas Vignale, with Bizarrap writing that "the good memories and your art will be indelible."

Investigation

CENIPA is leading the technical investigation. No cause has been released, and speculation about mechanical defects, visibility, or routing error remains unconfirmed. Prior to this collision, CENIPA had recorded 84 aircraft accidents in Brazil in 2026, resulting in 25 deaths.