British singer Liam Payne, a former member of best-selling boy band One Direction, died Wednesday aged 31 after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, police and emergency responders said.
Minutes after the news broke, distraught fans – most in their 20s and 30s – and onlookers gathered near the scene in the capital, where medical teams were still at work.
"The news hit me hard," fan Pilar Bilik, 27, said on the scene.
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."
The singer had suffered "very serious injuries incompatible with life as a result of his fall," the head of the city's SAME emergency medical service, Alberto Crescenti, told local television, adding "there was no possibility of resuscitation."
Crescenti said emergency personnel rushed to the Casa Sur hotel in the city's Palermo neighbourhood after an emergency call was made at 17.04 pm local time.
They arrived seven minutes later and "verified the death of this man, who we later learnt was a singer."
The police statement said the call had been made to report "an aggressive man who may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol."
Payne appeared to have suffered a fracture at the base of his skull from the fall that Crescenti said was "about 13 or 14 metres" (about 43-46 feet).
The UK's foreign office confirmed it was in contact with Argentine authorities "regarding reports of the death of a British man," but declined to identify the man or comment further.
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."
Local press reported on what they said was the emergency call from a hotel manager reporting a guest "on drugs and destroying the room."
The manager told the operator the guest "has a balcony, and we are afraid they might do something to put their life at risk."
The Buenos Aires City 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."
Several local newspapers 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 aluminum foil and a lighter, and a television with a broken screen.
A body was removed from the hotel around 8.30 pm local time by a firetruck, as fans cried and applauded solemnly.
'Part of adolescence lost'
British-Irish boy band 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.
The band went on to release an album of radio-ready pop each year in time for the holiday shopping season and became one of the highest-grossing live acts in the world.
In 2016, after Malik had left, the group said it was on an indefinite hiatus, but not splitting up.
Singer-songwriter Payne announced he was working on a solo album that same year, following in the footsteps of other band members — leading fans to believe the band was in fact not getting back together.
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.
He had a number of songwriting credits across One Direction's catalogue.
Struggles
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 at a rehab facility and discussed his efforts to stop drinking: "I kind of became somebody who I didn't really recognise anymore. And I'm sure you guys didn't either."
Last year he said he was working on a second solo album, and released a single this March.
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.
"I'm in shock, I can't believe it. I live five blocks away and thought I had to be here," said another fan Martina Di Lalla, 23.
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by Tomas Viola & Leila Macor, AFP
