British singer Liam Payne, a member of the best-selling boy band One Direction, died on Wednesday at the age of 31 after falling from the third storey of a Buenos Aires hotel, police and rescue services said.
It was unclear whether the fall was accidental or if Payne, who has publicly discussed his battles with alcohol usage, was intoxicated.
Minutes after his death was announced, grieving fans — mostly in their twenties and thirties — and observers gathered near the scene in the Argentine capital, where emergency personnel were working.
“The news hit me hard,” 27-year-old admirer Pilar Bilik remarked outside the hotel.
“So upsetting to hear the news of @LiamPayne passing. Sending love and condolences to his family & loved ones. RIP my friend,” reality star and businesswoman Paris Hilton wrote on social media with a crying emoji.
So upsetting to hear the news of @LiamPayne passing😢 Sending love and condolences to his family & loved ones. 🙏 RIP my friend🥺
— Paris Hilton (@ParisHilton) October 16, 2024
A police statement announced that “Liam James Payne, composer and guitarist, former member of the band One Direction, died today after falling from the third floor of a hotel.”
Crescenti said emergency personnel rushed to the Casa Sur hotel in the city’s Palermo neighborhood after an emergency call was made at 5:04pm local time (10.04pm SAST).
They arrived seven minutes later and “verified the death of this man, who we later learnt was a singer.”
Payne appeared to have suffered a fracture at the base of his skull from the fall Crescenti said was from “about 13 or 14 meters” (about 43-46 feet).
Reports of a disturbance
The police statement said the call had been made to report “an aggressive man who may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”
Argentine press reported on what they said was the emergency call from a hotel manager reporting a guest “on drugs and destroying the room.”
The Buenos Aires security ministry in a statement said that when officers arrived, the hotel manager reported “the death of a man who had jumped from the balcony of his room.”
The Clarin newspaper published photos of what it said was the interior of Payne’s room, with white powder seen on a table next to a piece of aluminium foil and a lighter, and a television with a broken screen.
‘Part of adolescence lost’
British-Irish pop sensation One Direction emerged in 2010 when then-teenagers Payne, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik appeared on British television contest “The X Factor.”
Payne had been on The X Factor twice before striking gold.
In 2016, after Malik had left, the group said it was on an indefinite hiatus, but not splitting up.
Payne announced he was working on a solo album that same year, following in the footsteps of other band members.
Payne’s lead single “Strip that Down” peaked at number three on the UK charts, and number 10 on the US Billboard top songs list.
The album, “LP1,” was released in December 2019.
Born August 29, 1993, Payne has in recent years spoken openly about struggles with alcoholism and fame.
In a 2023 video posted to his YouTube account, he said he had spent time in rehab and discussed his efforts to stop drinking: “I kind of became somebody who I didn’t really recognize anymore. And I’m sure you guys didn’t either.”
Payne had attended a concert by former band mate Horan in Buenos Aires on October 2, according to Billboard magazine.
“I feel like it’s a part of adolescence lost,” fan Lena Duek, 21, said outside the hotel Wednesday, adding she had been hoping for the band, whose music was the soundtrack of her teen years, to reunite.
