Tree had been seen joyously travelling through Brazil on the trip of a lifetime in a series of bittersweet videos posted online in the hours before he died.
A passenger on board a helicopter with YouTuber Oliver Tree was seen throwing himself from the aircraft after it collided with another helicopter in a mid-air collision that killed four young friends and two pilots in Rio de Janeiro.
Tree had been seen joyously travelling through Brazil on the trip of a lifetime in a series of bittersweet videos posted online in the hours before he died.
The American singer died at the age of 32 on Sunday morning while visiting Brazil on the South American leg of his 30-country world tour.
His death sparked an outpouring of grief from his millions of fans and fellow content creators, with KSI saying he felt ‘genuinely sick’ on hearing his friend had passed away.
Oliver, who also used the nickname Tree, was killed along with five other people when two helicopters collided in mid-air above an electric car dealership in Rio.
The crash claimed the life of Tree as well as Argentinian YouTuber Gaspar Prim, 23, known to fans as Gaspi, Argentine director and screenwriter Lucas Vignale, 29, Brazilian music producer Lucas Brito Chaves, 21, and pilots Alexandre Souza and Charles Marsillac.
One witness described seeing a helicopter in flames after the collision and saw a passenger jump to his death from the other aircraft before both hit the ground.
‘It was terrifying, absolutely horrifying,’ tyre worker Fernandes de Freitas said.
But days earlier he had shared poignant footage of himself playing football as World Cup fever sweeps across the South American country, which has won the championship five times.
Tree was also filmed cooking steaks, riding a motorbike through Rio and singing with local influencers in videos captioned ‘American for the 1st time in Brazil’ and ‘Gringo 24 horas no Brasil.’
Photos showed the devastating aftermath of the crash, which saw the two aircrafts and vehicles on the ground burst into flames with at least one person on the aircraft trying to jump to safety.
Officials are now scouring through the wreckage to determine how the tragedy happened.
The 32-year-old, who had 2.6million followers on Instagram and had appeared on shows with British YouTube star KSI, had just started a world tour. Tree, who first rose to fame as a teenager in 2010, was due to tour Europe in July before heading to the US, Australia, and China.
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Internet star and singer Oliver Tree (L) was seen travelling through Brazil on the trip of a lifetime in bittersweet videos just days before he was tragically killed in a helicopter crash. Pictured with YouTube star Iae Break days before the deadly incident
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Photos showed the devastating aftermath of the crash, which saw aircraft and vehicles on the ground burst into flames, with officials now scouring through the wreckage to determine the cause
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An aerial view shows the aftermath of a helicopter crash in the Recreio dos Bandeirantes neighbourhood in Rio
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A man walks past parts of a helicopter following a deadly collision between two helicopters
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Posting photos of the pair together on social media, KSI wrote: ‘Can’t believe I’m actually having to type this. You’re 32 man. You should still be here. You still had so much life to live.
‘So much music to make. So much content to make. You’re a legend and will always be a legend. Still doesn’t feel real. Genuinely feel sick. I love you bro.’
It came just months after Tree revealed none of his estate would be passed onto family, claiming all of his money would instead go into a foundation for child artists.
Tree had been due to perform in the U.S. and Europe over the next few months as part of his ‘Love You Madly, Hate You Badly World’s First’ tour, and had been enjoying a week off in Brazil when the tragedy happened.
In a clip posted Tuesday, Tree compared dance moves with Brazilian content creator Akihito in an exchange he described as ‘absolute cinema.’
Akihito wrote in a message (translated from Portuguese) on his Instagram Stories Sunday: ‘I’m so sorry to all of Oliver’s family and friends because he was very loved, incredible, and talented.’
In a separate post, Tree was seen singing and dancing with Brazilian content creator Lucas Vinícius.
