Four dead in Rio de Janeiro helicopter crash, including three Colombian relatives
A helicopter crashed in Rio de Janeiro's Tijuca National Park, killing four people, including three women from one Colombian family. The city's mayor has called for tighter oversight of helicopter flight safety.
A helicopter crash in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has left four people dead. According to Colombian consul Diana Paes, three of the victims were Colombian citizens: a 59-year-old woman, her 37-year-old daughter, and her 17-year-old granddaughter.
The women were part of a larger family group that had traveled to Rio de Janeiro to celebrate a relative's 15th birthday. The family numbered six people in total, but since the helicopter could only carry three passengers at a time, the group split into two parts to fly in separate trips.
According to the consul, the birthday girl was scheduled to take a sightseeing flight over the city on the next helicopter, together with her father and her father's partner, following the flight in which the crash occurred.
Crash site
The helicopter went down in Tijuca National Park, on a mountainside covered in dense forest vegetation. The area is a popular destination for tourists seeking panoramic views of the city.
Not the first such incident
This is the second fatal helicopter crash near the city in recent months. In June, two helicopters collided over Rio de Janeiro, killing six people, including American singer Oliver Tree and Argentine YouTuber Gaspar Prime.
Following the latest crash, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere called on Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency to immediately step up oversight to ensure safer helicopter flights in the city.
