The sudden death of one of the most popular Brazilian pop singers, Marilia Mendonca, in a plane crash on Friday has left netizens numb and in shock.
The accident took place in a rural area of Minas Gerais, a state in southern Brazil. She was heading to Caratinga city, where the artist was scheduled to perform at a concert on Friday.
The 26-year-old is survived by her one-year-old son, Leo.
The crash also killed the Latin Grammy-winner's producer and one of her uncles -- who worked with the singer -- as well as the two pilots.
"We still cannot say what caused the plane to crash, but there is damage that suggests that the plane collided with a (power) antenna before falling," local police chief Ivan Lopes said at a press conference.
The video of the crashed plane laying on the rocky area beneath a waterfall has gone viral.
Hours before passing away, Mendonca took to Instagram and posted a video that shows her holding her guitar case and walking towards the plane.
Mendonca's fans have been mourning the passing “of one of the greatest artists of her generation”.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said the “entire country” was in “shock” over the news of her death, while soccer superstar Neymar, a close friend of the singer, tweeted, “I refuse to believe it, I refuse”.
Netizens paid tribute to the young and talented singer who started a new wave of Brazilian country music that became popular worldwide and inspired many other singers.
At a very young age, Marilia started her singing journey and became a national star in 2016 with a hit single on infidelity.
In 2019, she won a Latin Grammy award for her album 'Em Todos os Cantos' and was nominated this year as well for her album 'Patroas'.
In 2020, she was the most listened to artist in Brazil on Spotify.