Four killed in helicopter crash in Rio de Janeiro

Four people were killed in a helicopter crash Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, including three Colombian tourists from the same family, the country's consul told AFP.

The helicopter went down in Tijuca National Park, a mountainside forest with very dense vegetation.

Firefighters confirmed the pilot and three women "burned to death" and released images showing the smoking remains of the aircraft on a steep, hard-to-reach hillside.

Diana Paez, the Consul General of Colombia in Rio de Janeiro, told AFP the three women were part of a family group who had traveled to the Brazilian city to celebrate a girl's 15th birthday. The group of six had split up because the helicopter could only take three passengers.

The birthday girl's grandmother, aunt and cousin died in the crash, and she was supposed to take a second flight later on, with her father and his partner, Paez said.

The consulate provided support to Brazilian authorities in identifying the victims, a difficult task because of the condition of the bodies.

The aircraft went down near Vista Chinesa, a replica of a Chinese pagoda known for its high-altitude vantage point, with its views of Rio from the heart of the forest.

The monument appeared in the 2011 animated film "Rio."

In June, two helicopters collided over Rio and left six people dead, including American singer Oliver Tree and Argentine YouTuber Gaspar Prim.

Helicopter rides are a popular attraction for tourists who want to see Rio de Janeiro's famed sights and the natural splendor of the seaside metropolis.

Rio's mayor Eduardo Cavaliere posted to X that he has asked Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency to immediately step up monitoring to ensure the safety of helicopter flights.