Two helicopters have collided in mid-air over the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, killing all six people on board, local authorities said.
Officials have launched an investigation into the cause of Sunday morning’s crash over a western suburb of the city called Recreio dos Bandeirantes.
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Firefighters said the helicopters collided before plummeting into the parking lot of an electric car dealership, setting about 20 vehicles on fire.
Fire services spokesman Fabio Contreiras said the blaze was difficult to extinguish because of toxic gases released by lithium-ion batteries in the electric vehicles.
“When this type of battery catches fire, it releases highly toxic gases and intensifies both the temperature and severity of the blaze,” Contreiras said.
“Extinguishing a fire in one of these vehicles requires three to four times the amount of water needed for a standard car fire.”
He added that the surrounding area was densely populated and that the death toll would have been far higher had the helicopters not crashed into the car park.
Contreiras said rescue workers had discovered one helicopter in flames among the electric cars, with five victims inside. A second helicopter, found about 100m (328 feet) away, was carrying only the pilot, who also died.
Debris from the helicopters was found hundreds of metres from the crash site. Footage shared online showed a thick plume of smoke rising from the car park into the sky.
Contreiras said authorities would need to review recordings of the incident before the cause of the crash could be confirmed.
Helicopter crashes are common in Brazil.
According to statistics from the Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (CENIPA), there had been 84 aircraft accidents in 2026 prior to Sunday’s crash.

NEW YORK (AP) — New Yorkers who weren’t partied out after the Knicks championship found another excuse to celebrate on Sunday as the National Puerto Rican Day Parade marched through Manhattan with pulsing music and vibrant colors.
Tens of thousands of spectators lined Fifth Avenue under sunny skies to watch marchers decked out in red-white-and-blue. This year’s honorees included rapper and singer Daddy Yankee, who served as grand marshal, and actor Anthony Ramos, who was part of the original Broadway cast of “Hamilton.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani drew cheers as he clutched a small Puerto Rico flag and wore a Knicks jersey over a shirt and tie.
The event, which bills itself as America’s largest cultural celebration, honors the contributions of Puerto Ricans on their home island and throughout the nation and world. It’s a been a June tradition in the city since the late 1950s.
U.S. Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and jazz musician Charlie Sepulveda were recognized with lifetime achievement awards.
The parade was traveling along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan from 44th Street to 79th Street, spanning 35 city blocks.
The National Puerto Rican Day Parade Scholarship Gala was held on Friday, celebrating academic excellence and student achievement.

Tyra Banks filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix and the directors of its “America’s Next Top Model” docuseries, claiming they manipulated hours of interview footage to support a false narrative about her role on the show.
The lawsuit, filed on Saturday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, says that the three-part docuseries, “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model,” which premiered on Netflix in February, defamed Ms. Banks by implication and portrayed her in a false light.
The lawsuit also claims breach of contract and false endorsement. The production company EverWonder Studio is also named as a defendant.
Representatives for Netflix, as well as for the show’s directors, Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan, and EverWonder Studio did not respond to requests for comment on Sunday. A representative for Ms. Banks declined to comment.
“Reality Check,” which explored the legacy of triumphs and controversies of “America’s Next Top Model,” drew a variety of responses. Some questioned why it had taken so long to scrutinize the show, which ran in the United States for 24 seasons (or “cycles,” in the show’s parlance) between 2003 and 2018. Others wanted to hold Ms. Banks, who created, hosted and executive produced “America’s Next Top Model,” accountable for the show’s missteps, which included asking models to pose as people who were homeless, bulimic, drug-addicted or victims of violent crime, and requesting them to adopt different races or ethnicities.
Ms. Banks says in her lawsuit that the producers did not share enough of her responses from the three-and-a-half-hour interview she had given to them, in which she answered questions about the show’s history, including criticism of decisions that she says she would approach differently today.
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Kim Kardashian turned a night at Ariana Grande’s “Eternal Sunshine” concert into a viral moment … showing up to support her ex-boyfriend’s ex-fiancée.
The SKIMS founder was seen in the audience alongside former ‘American Horror Story’ co-star Emma Roberts, with the pair blending into the crowd as Ariana took the stage for a packed performance.
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Despite the attempt to keep things low-key, fans quickly noticed Kim, who was also seen alongside Ari’s mom Joan, in the venue and began sharing clips online showing her vibing at the show.
Kim also posted her own video from the concert, giving followers a glimpse of the atmosphere as Ariana performed for a sold-out crowd — singing along to some of Ari’s banger hits.
Worth noting … this isn’t the first time Kim and Ariana’s paths have closely crossed, as both women dated comedian Pete Davidson.
Ari was most recently linked to ‘Wicked’ costar Ethan Slater … but the longtime couple just moved from Oz to Splitsville.
We broke the story … Ariana andEthan Slater have been quietly broken up for several months. Sources close to the former couple tell TMZ … the split is amicable and the two still remain friends and are very supportive of one another. We’re told they gave the breakup careful consideration but ultimately decided to end the romantic relationship.

Hank Azaria wasn’t too happy that Taylor Swift got courtside seats at Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
During a recent appearance on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, The Simpsons actor said that “it was crazy in there celebritywise” at the Wednesday night match between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs. However, you “only see the A+ list down at the bottom.”
“I’ll tell you the one that bothered me was Taylor Swift,” Azaria admitted. “I know she’s the hugest thing in the world, but we had to sit with her all through the NFL (as the Grammy winner is engaged to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce) and now she’s at the Garden. Come on.”
“It’s not that I question why she’d get the seat. I’m just tired of the whole Taylor sports…” he continued before adding that it’s “ridiculous” that she got three courtside seats as Alana and Este Haim were also with Swift.
Azaria, a longtime Knicks fan, went on to explain the challenging process for how celebrities score complimentary tickets to games at Madison Square Garden.
“You don’t know from the Garden if you’re going to get in until that day,” he said. “If you’re Ben Stiller or Tracy Morgan, you know. I think Spike [Lee] actually pays for his tickets. So they don’t let you know until day-of because there’s such high demand.”
After not making the cut for complimentary tickets to Game 3, The Idol actor said he was able to get in for free to Game 4. However, Azaria thought it was “horrible” that his seats were in the arena’s Cisco Suites, located within the upper bowl.
“I know I’m not courtside, but I think they’ve [MSG] got me good seats. But we’re way up in what they call the Cisco Suites, which are like the ceiling,” he recalled, noting that other stars such as Quest Love, Rain Wilson, Ed Burns, Jeremy Strong, Aaron Judge and Christy Turlington were also in the same area. “Like there’s so many folks who want in that they’ve stuck us all up in the rafters.”
“Celebrities are scattered throughout the entire garden,” Azaria added. “You only see the A+ list down at the bottom. Everybody else is like stuck wherever.”
Despite not receiving his ideal seats for the game, the actor said he was “just happy to be in there” overall.