Two Helicopters Collide and Crash Into Electric Car Lot.

The fire department said one of the helicopters crashed into the parking lot of a car dealership, where several electric vehicles were parked, igniting a fire that was extinguished.

Firefighters said the two helicopters collided before plummeting into the parking lot of an electric car dealership, setting about 20 vehicles on fire. Rescue workers discovered one helicopter in flames among the electric cars, with five victims inside, fire service spokesman Fabio Contreiras said.

Police said Tree was on the passenger list handed to aviation authorities, but they have not been able to identify the bodies of those killed in the crash. Tree performed in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on June 4, and a video posted on his Instagram on Saturday showed him playing soccer in a Brazilian neighborhood. There were three other passengers and the pilot in Tree’s helicopter, while the other helicopter carried only the pilot, according to the manifest provided by Brazilian authorities. Officials said an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the collision, and Contreiras said authorities would need to review recordings of the incident before the cause could be confirmed.

Tire repair worker Fernandes de Freitas said he saw one of the helicopters in flames after the midair collision and noticed that one of the passengers jumped out of the other aircraft before it hit the ground. "It was terrifying, absolutely horrifying," de Freitas said. Fire service spokesman Fabio Contreiras said the blaze was difficult to extinguish because of toxic gases released by lithium-ion batteries in the electric vehicles, noting that "extinguishing a fire in one of these vehicles requires three to four times the amount of water needed for a standard car fire."