Brazilian pop star Gabriel Diniz was killed in a plane crash on Monday while traveling to visit his girlfriend, Karoline Calheiros, for her birthday. He was 28.
Diniz, who was best known for his 2016 hit “Paraquedas” and his 2018 single “Jenifer,” was a passenger in a Piper PA-28 Cherokee that took off from the city of Salvador in Bahia state and was bound for Maceió.
The small plane crashed in Porto do Mato on the southern coast during bad weather, killing Diniz and the two pilots, Linaldo Xavier and Abraão Farias. Military police confirmed their deaths to local news media Grupo Globo’s G1.com.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation. Brazilian media reported that the Piper PA-28 Cherokee was deemed airworthy, but was not licensed for air taxi trips like the one Diniz was making and it was only meant to be used for flight training, according to the Guardian.
Born in João Pessoa in the north-east of Brazil, Diniz began his music career while working as electrical engineer. He went on to build a large fan base in Latin America along with 4.8 million followers on Instagram.
Diniz’s final post on the social media site pictured him performing at a concert in Feira de Santana, Brazil, last weekend.