British singer Liam Payne, former member of the group One Direction, died Wednesday aged 31 after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Argentina, police in Buenos Aires said.
"Liam James Payne, composer and guitarist, former member of the band One Direction, died today after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Palermo," a police statement said.
Police are currently investigating whether the incident at the Casa Sur hotel was an accident or a possible suicide.
Payne was staying in room 10 on the establishment's third floor and his body was found in the hotel's internal courtyard. The fall to the ground from the balcony is around 13 or 14 metres.
The musician, who has visited Argentina on many occasions, arrived in the country on September 30. He attended a show by former bandmate Niall Horan at the Movistar Arena on October 2.
Officers at the Comisaría Vecinal 14 B police station received a call earlier Wednesday reporting the presence of a man acting "aggressively," potentially under the influence of drugs or alcohol, reported local media.
Upon arriving at the scene, the officers discovered Payne’s body in the building's internal courtyard.
Paramedics then confirmed the death of the musician and erected a red tent to protect the crime scene and take the corpse out of public view.
Head of the local emergency services, Alberto Crescenti, told local media that "there was no possibility" for emergency personnel to save Payne's life.
"He had very serious injuries that caused his death, such as a fracture at the base of the skull," said the doctor, who said investigators and experts would now look into the circumstances of the tragedy.
The singer found fame as a teenager with One Direction, the boy band sensation that emerged in 2010 when Payne, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik appeared on British television contest The X Factor.
In 2016, the group announced it was going 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.
Local media reported that in the hour leading up to his death, the singer had posted a series of photos on the Snapchat social network.
The images do not seem to have been recorded on the day of his passing.
– TIMES/NA/AFP
