The plane crashes, the famous singer dies at the age of 26

Marília Mendonça, one of Brazil's most famous singers, lost her life in a plane crash at the age of 26.

Four other people - her uncle, producer and two crew members - also died in the crash in a rural area in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais.

An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the crash.

One of the biggest names in Brazilian country music, with around 40 million followers on Instagram, Mendonça started her career as a teenager and became a national star in 2016 with a hit for betrayal. She was known as the "Queen of Suffering" country. Mendonça has been declared the winner of a Latin Grammy in 2019.

Last year, as concerts were canceled due to the pandemic, she performed in a series of online concerts. One of them set the record for the most watched live broadcast in the world, with 3.3 million views on YouTube.

In 2020, she was the most listened artist in Brazil on Spotify.

Mendonça, who has a 2-year-old son, would perform at a concert Friday night in the town of Caratinga, 12km from the crash site. Hours before the crash, she posted a video on social media in which she was preparing to board a private jet.

The singer's staff initially said she was alive and well after the news of the accident. Television images later showed the damaged plane near a waterfall in a mountainous area.

After her death was confirmed, famous stars reacted on social networks, such as the Brazilian football player Neymar, who wrote: "I refuse to believe her, I refuse".

While the singer Anitta wrote: “I do not believe it. I want to believe that there is still hope. "