One Direction star Liam Payne has died in Argentina after falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires, police said.
The 31-year-old plunged from the third floor of the Casa Sur Hotel in the trendy Palermo neighbourhood resulting in "extremely serious injuries", according to authorities in the South American country's capital.He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The circumstances around his death are still being investigated.
Alberto Crescenti, head of the state emergency medical system, said on Argentina's Todo Noticias TV channel Payne fell into a courtyard of the hotel.
The singer was in the city to support his former bandmate Niall Horan whose world tour included dates in Argentina, having been seen dancing at his show two weeks ago at the Movistar Arena alongside his girlfriend Kate Cassidy.
US outlet TMZ reported Payne had been acting erratically in the hotel lobby and smashed a laptop before going back to his third floor room.
Citing officials, leading local newspapers La Nacion and Clarin reported police were called to the hotel responding to an emergency call that cited "an aggressive man who could be under the effects of drugs and alcohol."
Ambulance workers later confirmed the death of the singer, who was found in an interior hotel patio, according to the news reports.
One Direction became one of the biggest pop groups in the world with five albums and four world tours after being put together by Simon Cowell on the X-Factor in 2010.
Payne was one of the founding members alongside Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson.
The band went on indefinite hiatus after Malik announced his departure in 2015.
Payne released his debut solo album LP1 in December 2019 which included the singles Polaroid and Familiar.
The Wolverhampton-born singer dated former Girls Aloud star Cheryl Cole after the band broke up and they had a son, Bear, born in 2017, but he had been in a relationship with Cassidy since 2022.He is also survived by his parents, Geoff and Karen Payne, and his two older sisters, Ruth and Nicola.
He recently signed on to join former Destiny’s Child singer Kelly Rowland and The Pussycat Dolls star Nicole Scherzinger to judge attempts to create a band in a new Netflix show.
Tributes have flooded in to the former One Direction star.
DJ and music producer Zedd, who worked with Payne on the 2017 song Get Low, called the singer's death "absolutely heartbreaking".
Singer Charlie Puth, a co-writer on Payne's 2017 song Bedroom Floor, revealed he was in "shock".
"Liam was always so kind to me," he posted on Instagram, alongside a collection of photos of the pair working together.
"He was one of the first major artists I got to work with. I cannot believe he is gone... I am so upset right now, may he rest in peace."
Paris Hilton called the news “so upsetting” in a post on X, and sent her “love and condolences” to his friends and family.
Former X Factor duo Jedward paid tribute to the singer and sent “strength to Cheryl and his son Bear and all the One Direction family”.
John and Edward Grimes, known as Jedward, started their careers on the same reality TV show that launched One Direction.
Media personality and fellow former X Factor contestant Rylan Clark said Liam Payne’s death was “tragic”.
In a post on X, the broadcaster described news of the singer’s death as “extremely sad.”
A statement on the official X account of the Brit Awards said: “We’re incredibly sad to learn of the tragic passing of Liam Payne. Our thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family at this time”.
In August last year, Payne postponed his scheduled tour of South America after suffering from a “serious kidney infection”.
He said the infection was something “I wouldn’t wish on anyone” and he had been instructed by doctors to “rest and recover”.
Later last year he was banned from driving in the UK after admitting a speeding offence.
