Liam Payne at the BRIT Awards in London in 2019. Photo: AFP / TOLGA AKMEN
A former member of the boy band One Direction, Liam Payne, has died after falling from the third floor of an Argentine Hotel, local media are reporting.
He was 31.
Police were called to the Casa Sur Hotel in the leafy Buenos Aires suburb of Palermo about 5pm local time (9am on Thursday NZT).
They said they received a 911 call about an aggressive man in the inner courtyard of the hotel.
It was believed the man could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Todo Noticias reported.
The Casa Sure Hotel in Palermo, Buenos Aires. Photo: X/Supplied
Minutes after the news broke, distraught fans - most in their 20s and 30s - and onlookers gathered near the scene in the Argentine capital, where medical teams were still at work.
"The news hit me hard," fan Pilar Bilik, 27, said on the scene.
"I feel like it's a part of adolescence lost," fan Lena Duek, 21, said outside the hotel, adding she had been hoping for the band, which accompanied 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," One Direction fan Martina Di Lalla, 23, told AFP outside the hotel.
Alberto Crescenti, the director of an emergency medical response group, known as SAME, told the site the man was dead when they arrived, having suffered fatal injuries in a fall.
"There was no way to do anything."
They confirmed his death and later learnt the man was a singer.
An autopsy was expected and police were investigating.
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 British singer had been due to perform in Argentina last month but his South American tour was cancelled due to health problems.
One Direction (Liam Payne left) attends the 2015 Billboard Music Awards. Photo: ROBYN BECK/AFP
Local media have been quick to point out his history of problems with alcohol use and mental health.
La Nacion newspaper said half an hour before his death Payne posted a video with his girlfriend on Snapchat saying it was a "beautiful day in Argentina".
The images do not appear to have been shot in the Buenos Aires hotel where he died.
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, 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.
Liam Payne performs in 2019. Photo: JENS KALAENE / dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP
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.
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 recognize 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.
He had attended a concert by former band mate Horan in Buenos Aires on 2 October, according to Billboard magazine.
Payne had a son born in 2017, Bear, with ex-Cheryl Cole.
- RNZ with AFP
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