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A groom was left in a state of shock after being told at the altar that his bride had been killed in a helicopter crash just one mile from the venue.

Rosemere do Nascimento Silva, 32, had planned to surprise her fiancé Udirley Damasceno and 300 guests by swooping in to their reception in a rural area on the outskirts of Sao Paulo in Brazil.

But in an horrendous twist of fate, the aircraft crashed en route to the venue, killing the bride-to-be, her brother, the pilot and a photographer who was six-months-pregnant.

Mr Damasceno was stood waiting at the altar in front of 300 family and friends when he was told his bride had been killed.

(Image: Facebook)

Carlos Eduardo Batista, who helped organise the wedding, said after being told of the horrific accident, he contacted the pastor and went with him to tell Mr Damasceno.

He told Brazilian news website Globo: "I called the pastor who was at the ceremony and he went with me to communicate to try to calm the groom.

"He was in shock. Then the other guests [about 300] knew and no one knew how to act. It was a tragedy. "

Police and air crash investigators are now trying to establish what caused the crash.

They are looking into reports that it might have hit a tree during bad visibility with rain, fog and cloud.

The accident was only discovered when it was realised the helicopter did not arrive at a nearby football field.

Guests at the wedding were later told a plane had crashed nearby but at first thought it was an unconnected incident.

There were 300 guests at the wedding but only about six of them knew about the surprise.

The National Civil Aviation Agency has indicated that the aircraft permission to fly until February 1, 2017 with a capacity of three people without counting the pilot.

The helicopter, a Robinson 44, crashed about a mile from the wedding venue in a forest area near a main road.

Eight fire engines rushed to the scene but nothing could be done to save the four occupants.

The pilot was named as Peterson Pinheiro, and the brother of the bride, Silvano Nascimento da Silva.

The pregnant photographer was Nayla Cristina Neves.

The journey would have taken just 15 minutes.