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The emergency call made by hotel staff where Liam Payne was staying before his death has been released.
The former One Direction member died on Wednesday (October 16) aged 31, after falling from a hotel balcony in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. In an emergency call made to local police, the chief receptionist at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel said Payne was “overloaded with drugs and alcohol” and “trashing the entire room” before the singer’s death.
According to the BBC’s English translation of the 911 phone call, the caller – who reportedly identified himself as “Esteban” – became anxious over the phone, saying that emergency services were needed “urgently.”
“Well, we have a guest overloaded with drugs and alcohol. And, well, when he is conscious, he is breaking the whole room. And, well, we need you to send us someone please,” the hotel manager told the 911 operator.
“We need you to send us someone urgently because, well, we don’t know if the guest’s life is at risk,” they said. “He is in a room that has a balcony. And well, we’re a bit afraid that he does something that could put his life at risk.”
The operator confirmed that SAME – the public emergency medical services system in Buenos Aires – was on its way to the hotel.
The 911 call was made at 5:01pm local time, shortly before Payne’s death around 10 minutes later. The singer’s name was not mentioned throughout the phone call.
Pablo Policicchio, the spokesperson for the Security Ministry of Buenos Aires municipality, confirmed to the Associated Press that local police were dispatched to the hotel in response to an emergency call about an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”
Alberto Crescenti, head of the local emergency services, told Buenos Aires Times that “there was no possibility” for first responders to save Payne’s life as he had “very serious injuries.”
An investigation later found Payne’s hotel room “in complete disarray,” with packs of clonazepam, a central nervous system depressant, as well as energy supplements and other over-the-counter drugs strewn about and “various items broken.”
Buenos Aires police added that a whiskey bottle, lighter and cellphone were retrieved from the internal hotel courtyard where Payne’s body was found.
Payne had been in the country in part to support his former One Direction bandmate, Niall Horan, who had been performing in Buenos Aires. He attended Horan’s concert earlier this month with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy, before deciding to stay in the country for longer. Meanwhile, Cassidy returned home to Florida just two days before Payne’s death.
Both friends and fans have since shared their tributes for the former X Factor contestant. In a statement issued by Payne’s spokeswoman, his family said: “We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul.
“We are supporting each other the best we can as a family and ask for privacy and space at this awful time.”
Payne’s former One Direction bandmates, including Horan, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson, have yet to publicly address the singer’s death.
Follow live updates and tributes following the death of Liam Payne here.
