Singer Oliver Tree presumed dead after Rio de Janeiro helicopter crash
Rio de Janeiro’s Military Fire Department confirmed that six people died in a helicopter crash. Singer Oliver Tree was on the list of victims.
Musician Oliver Tree and 23-year-old YouTuber Gaspar Prim, known online as Gaspi, were identified by Brazilian police as among six people who died in a helicopter accident.
All of the victims have been identified, a police spokesperson for the state of Rio de Janeiro told USA TODAY Thursday, June 18.
“The last body identified was that of the American Oliver Tree,” the statement, written in Portuguese, said. “Brazilians Lucas Brito, Charles Marsillac, and Alexandre Souza, as well as Argentinians Gaspar Prim and Lucas Vignale, were also identified.”
The investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing in the Recreio dos Bandeirantes neighborhood, and the Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center is expected to issue a report on the incident.
The 32-year-old California-born musician, whose real name was Oliver Tree Nickell, was presumed dead as he was on the list of passengers aboard one of two helicopters that went down after a mid-air collision in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, June 14.
Rio de Janeiro’s Military Fire Department previously told USA TODAY that preliminary reports indicated “the helicopters collided in mid-air and crashed into the parking lot of an electric car dealership, igniting a fire that consumed at least 20 vehicles.” After 50 military firefighters and 15 vehicles responded to the scene, the fire’s progress was halted.
Tree had performed in São Paulo on June 6, as one of his stops on the Love You Madly, Hate You Badly World’s First World Tour. His album, “Love You Madly Hate You Badly,” was released April 24.
He was next scheduled to perform in Lisbon on July 1, according to his website.
Two months prior, he made a surprise appearance during Weekend 1 of Coachella, where he joined Subtronics for a performance on the Sahara Stage.
Tree hailed from Santa Cruz and rose to fame with 2021’s “Life Goes On,” which garnered a fanbase on TikTok and marked his debut on the Billboard Top 100 chart. His other popular tracks included “Miss You” off his 2023 album “Alone in a Crowd,” which peaked at 84 on the Top 100.
In his Spotify bio, he described himself as “an internet-based vocalist, producer, writer, director and performance artist” who explored “the intersection where pop and alternative meet sonically.”
