A sightseeing helicopter carrying 17-year-old Colombian beauty influencer Sofia Murillo plunged into a wooded hillside in Rio de Janeiro on August 8, killing her along with her mother, her grandmother and the pilot. The crash, which erupted into flames on impact, has drawn calls from Rio’s mayor for an urgent safety review of the city’s scenic air tours and left hundreds of thousands of the teenager’s followers grieving online.

Murillo died alongside her mother, Wendy Manrique, 37, and her grandmother, Rocio Cubillos, 59, when their aircraft went down near the Vista Chinesa viewpoint inside Tijuca National Park. The pilot, Alessandro Rocha, was also killed. No one aboard survived. The family had traveled from Bogotá and booked a 20-minute panoramic flight to take in views of landmarks including the Christ the Redeemer statue.

The four-seat Robinson R44, operated by local tour agency Voo Rio Panorâmico, took off shortly before 11 a.m. local time and crashed at about 11:11 a.m. into a forested area of Alto da Boa Vista, igniting flames that consumed vegetation on the slope.. Because the helicopter could carry only three passengers, the six relatives traveling together had split into two groups, and Murillo, her mother and grandmother boarded first.

A Family Waiting at the Hangar

Murillo’s uncle, Victor Manrique, remained at the departure facility with his wife and 15-year-old daughter, expecting to board the subsequent trip when the first never returned. The family learned of the tragedy through news reports while still at the airport. Manrique told Brazilian media outlet g1 that the group had come to Brazil to celebrate a quinceañera, the traditional 15th-birthday party, and had booked the ride with the last of their vacation savings and a credit card.

He remembered his niece as a hard-working and diligent young woman and told the outlet, “We were a very happy family.”

Responders faced significant challenges due to the steep, rugged landscape. Lieutenant Colonel Fábio Contreiras, speaking for the fire department, said personnel deployed dozens of military and civilian vehicles plus multiple operational teams. Crews needed climbing ropes and specialized equipment to access the wreckage, and had to put out fuel-fed flames before recovering the victims’ remains.

Investigation in Its Early Stages

Authorities have not yet determined what caused the helicopter to crash. Rio de Janeiro’s Civil Police and the Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center (CENIPA) are running parallel investigations. CENIPA, a Brazilian Air Force unit, is examining the wreckage for technical clues. A preliminary report is expected in several weeks, with the final report likely to take months. Investigators have cautioned that fire damage may limit the usefulness of any data recorded during the flight.

A lawyer representing Voo Rio Panorâmico said the company has not identified a cause but stressed that the pilot held the appropriate licenses, the operating permits were in order and the aircraft’s maintenance was current. The Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) confirmed the helicopter’s certificate was valid. Panoramic flights are classified as specialized air services, requiring dedicated technical certification for both the aircraft and the crew, and ANAC said it is discussing joint oversight of such flights with the city.

Rio Mayor Eduardo officially called for immediate safety inspections of the tourism aviation industry, seeking measures that could include a temporary suspension of scenic helicopter rides during the review process. The accident occurred roughly eight weeks after a fatal midair collision involving two helicopters killed six people, among them musician Oliver Tree and YouTuber Gaspi, over Recreio dos Bandeirantes, in the city’s west zone.

An Online Community in Mourning

Murillo had built an audience of more than 250,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram, reaching more than 200,000 on TikTok and nearly 50,000 on Instagram. She was known for beauty product reviews, “get ready with me” videos, makeup tutorials, and hair and skin care tips. Her final TikTok post, dated August 5, showed part of her gym workout routine. On August 1, she shared her cosmetics application process with her Instagram audience. In the days following the tragedy, her social media accounts became virtual gathering places where thousands of supporters posted tributes and condolences beneath her final videos.

“Rest in peace angel,” one fan wrote. Another commented that Murillo was one of the few people who had helped boost their self-esteem through her tips.

For now, the questions surrounding the crash remain unanswered, and the families of all four victims await findings that could take months to complete. What the record already shows is the scale of the loss: three generations of one family, a young woman on the cusp of adulthood, and a celebration that ended in tragedy over one of the world’s most photographed skylines.