Former One Direction singer Liam Payne has died aged 31 in Argentina after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires.
In a statement, Buenos Aires police said that they discovered Payne’s body fallen from the third floor of the Casa Sur Hotel in the upscale Palermo, a neighborhood of Argentina’s capital, resulting in “extremely serious injuries”.
Medics reportedly confirmed his death on the spot.
Pablo Policicchio, the communications director for the Buenos Aires Security Ministry, said in a statement to The Associated Press that Liam Payne “had jumped from the balcony of his room.”
Police had rushed to the hotel on Wednesday in response to an emergency call right after 5 p.m. local time, warning of an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.” Reports on various news portals also claim that Payne “smashed his laptop” in the hotel lobby and had to be escorted back to his room.
In a 911 audio aired to a local Argentine television station, the hotel owner could be heard saying “We have a guest who is on drugs and is destroying the whole room, so we need someone to come.”
When the police arrived at the hotel, they were told a loud sound had been heard in the interior courtyard, after which they found the body.
Emergency medical services director Alberto Crescenti informed local media that an autopsy will be carried out. Mr. Crescenti declined to answer questions about the circumstances of Payne’s fall from the hotel balcony.
Liam Payne posted on Snapchat just hours before the incident, saying: “It’s a lovely day here in Argentina.”
Payne was vocal about struggling with alcoholism, even posting a video in July 2023 to his YouTube channel where he asserted that he had been sober for six months after treatment.
Upon hearing the news, dozens of One Direction fans flocked from across Buenos Aires to the hotel, prompting police to cordon off the entrance. Some fans even lit candles in his memory.
“I was in my living room and my sister told me Liam died,” a young fan named Violeta Antier told Reuters news agency. “We couldn’t believe it. We came here directly to confirm it was true.”
“I didn’t think he was going to die so young,” 21-year-old Isabella Milesi told the AP.
Another woman cried as she explained why she had come to the hotel: “This is the only way I have to say goodbye to him”.
Tributes have also begun pouring in online.
“Sending love and condolences to his family [and] loved ones,” socialite Paris Hilton wrote on X. “RIP my friend.”
Presenter Dermot O’Leary said he remembered Payne with affection.
“I remember him as a 14-year-old turning up to audition on the X factor and blowing us away singing Sinatra,” he wrote alongside a picture of the pair.
Max George from The Wanted said he met Liam Payne while he was competing on The X Factor with One Direction, describing his death as “absolutely devastating”.
“Over the last few years I had the pleasure of getting to know him personally and spent some treasured time with him,” he wrote on Instagram.
Liam Payne was one of the five members of One Direction, an iconic band which formed when they each auditioned for the British singing competition series, “The X Factor’ in 2010. The band enjoyed global success, garnering a spectacular fandom and known for their romantic hits like “What Makes You Beautiful”, “Night Changes” and “Story of My Life”.
The band members were all also known for their individual personas, with Payne being regarded as the responsible one.
They announced in 2025 that they were going on hiatus the following year, after which Payne enjoyed solo success
