Former One Direction star and singer Liam Payne has died from “extremely serious injuries” after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina.
Distraught fans gathered outside the door of a Buenos Aires hotel on Wednesday to mourn the death of British singer and former One Direction member Liam Payne, in shock and disbelief.
Payne tragically died on Wednesday, October 16th, at the age of 31, after falling from the third floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital.
In an outpouring of grief, fans lit candles, sang One Direction songs and observed a moment of silence to remember the music icon.
Police said in a statement that Ms Payne's body was discovered by emergency crews who responded to a call in an upscale residential area of Palermo on Wednesday, October 16.
“It’s a lovely day in Argentina” – Liam Payne
Payne achieved worldwide fame as part of a hugely popular boy band from England and Ireland. X factor She appeared on the 2010 TV show alongside Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and Zayn Malik.
After One Direction announced an indefinite hiatus in 2015, he embarked on a solo career.
The pop star appeared to have posted on Snapchat hours before the incident, where he shared photos and videos of himself and partner Kate Cassidy and said:
“It's a great day here in Argentina.”
He apparently shot the video at the beginning of the week and posted it in the last few hours.
“There is no chance of resuscitation.”
It was not immediately clear whether the fall was an accident.
Payne has spoken publicly about his struggle with alcohol, and local police said they responded to a report of an “aggressive man who may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”
A separate police statement said: “Former One Direction member, composer and guitarist Liam James Payne died today after falling from the third floor of a hotel.”
“There is no possibility of resuscitation,” Alberto Crescenti, head of emergency medical services in Buenos Aires, told local television.
The singer-songwriter appeared to have suffered a fracture at the base of his skull from a fall of “about 13 to 14 meters,” Crescenti said.
Crescenti declined to answer questions about the circumstances that led to Payne's fall from the balcony.
Liam Payne: Report of a disturbance
Argentine media reported that the emergency call was from a hotel manager reporting that guests were “taking drugs and destroying their rooms.''
The manager reportedly told the operator that guests were “concerned that they would do something that would put their lives at risk because of the balcony.”
Buenos Aires' security ministry said in a statement that when officers arrived, the hotel manager reported “a deceased man who had jumped from the balcony of his room.”
