Liam Payne, former One Direction member, dies after falling from Argentina hotel balcony. According to Buenos Aires police's statement, the 31-year-old singer fell from the third floor of the Casa Sur Hotel in the trendy neighborhood of Argentina's capital Palermo, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.”
Medics confirmed his death on the spot, the statement added.
Payne “had jumped from the balcony of his room,” Pablo Policicchio, the communications director for the Buenos Aires Security Ministry, said in a statement to The Associated Press (AP).
An audio call made to the police station before Liam Payne's death revealed that the hotel manager had reported an “aggressive man who may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol” destroying the hotel room.
Police rushed to the hotel in response to an emergency call just after 5 pm (local time), he told AP, warning of an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”
At 5:07 pm, Policicchio said, the arriving police requested an ambulance after finding a man who had apparently just plunged from the third-floor balcony.
Dozens of One Direction fans flocked from across Buenos Aires to the Casa Sur Hotel after the news broke, forming lines that spilled into the cordoned-off street outside the hotel where police stood sentinel.
Payne had been vocal about struggling with alcoholism. In July 2023, he posted a video to his YouTube channel where he said he had been sober for six months after receiving treatment.
Payne had a 7-year-old son, Bear Grey Payne, with his former girlfriend, the musician Cheryl who was known as Cheryl Cole when she performed with Girls Aloud. In addition to his son, he is survived by his parents, Geoff and Karen Payne, and his two older sisters, Ruth and Nicola.
American singer Charlie Puth took to Instagram to express his disbelief on the news, and said “Liam was always so kind”. “I am in shock right now. Liam was always so kind to me. He was one of the first major artists I got to work with. I cannot believe he is gone,” he said.
(With AP inputs)
