Liam Payne, former star of One Direction, died aged 31 in Argentina after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires.
Police said they discovered Payne’s body after emergency crews responded to a call in the upscale Palermo neighborhood.
According to information from the Buenos Aires police, officers on the ground first responded to reports “of an aggressive man who may have been under the influence of drugs and alcohol.”
When they arrived at the hotel, officers were told that a scream had been heard in the inner courtyard. Soon after, they discovered the body and a police investigation was launched.
EMS Director Alberto Crescenti told local media that Payne suffered “severe injuries” and that an autopsy would be performed.
Crescenti declined to answer questions about the circumstances surrounding Payne’s fall from the balcony.
The UK Foreign Office confirmed it was in contact with authorities in Argentina “in relation to the death of a British national”.
Payne posted a message on Snapchat just hours earlier: “It’s a beautiful day here in Argentina.”
After news of his death broke, fans began gathering outside a hotel in Buenos Aires, lighting candles.
Payne, who was born in Wolverhampton, UK, first tried his hand at fame when he auditioned for ITV talent show The X Factor in 2008 – but was told by judge Simon Cowell to “come back in two years”.
He did so, impressing the judges in 2010, with four more solo hopefuls at the boot camp stage. Thus One Direction was born.
The group had four UK number one albums and four number one singles, as well as chart toppers around the world, before announcing they were going on hiatus in 2015.
In 2017, Payne’s debut solo single Strip That Down, which reached number three on the Official UK Chart, and his collaboration with Rita Ora on For You – from the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack – also reached the top 10.
Payne rose to international fame as part of the hugely popular band created on the TV show The X Factor in 2010, alongside Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik.
Earlier this month, Payne attended his former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan’s concert in Argentina.
He started a relationship with Girls Aloud star Cheryl Tweedy in 2016, and they had a son, Bear, the following year. The couple divorced in 2018.
