Liam Payne, the former One Direction star, has died aged 31 in Argentina after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, police say.
In a statement, police said they discovered Payne’s body after an emergency crew responded to a 911 call in the upscale neighbourhood of Palermo.
Payne had risen to global fame as part of the much-loved boyband created on the X Factor TV show in 2010, along with Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik.
Earlier this month, Payne had attended the Argentina concert of his former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan.
According to police in Buenos Aires, officers at the scene were initially responding to reports “of an aggressive man who may have been under the effects of drugs and alcohol”.
When they arrived at the hotel, officials heard a loud sound in an interior courtyard before discovering the body. A police investigation has been launched.
Emergency medical services director Alberto Crescenti told local media that Payne had suffered “serious injuries” and and that an autopsy will be carried out.
Mr Crescenti declined to answer questions about the circumstances of Payne’s fall from the balcony.
Once news of the death broke, fans began gathering outside the Buenos Aires hotel where the death took place, prompting police to cordon off the entrance.
“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.”
Ms Antier said she saw Payne at the Niall Horan concert just two weeks ago.
Payne, who was born in Wolverhampton in the UK, first tried for stardom when he auditioned for ITV talent show The X Factor in 2008 – but judge Simon Cowell told him to “come back in two years”.
He did, impressing the judges more in 2010, and was put together with four other solo hopefuls at the boot camp stage and One Direction were born.
They group had four UK number one albums and four number ones singles as well as topping charts around the world, before announcing they were going on a hiatus in 2015.
In 2017, Payne’s debut solo single Strip That Down which peaked at number three on the Official UK Chart, and his collaboration with Rita Ora on the song For You – from the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack – also reached the top 10.
He began a relationship with Girls Aloud star Cheryl in 2016 and they had a son, Bear, the following year. The couple split in 2018.
In recent weeks, claims had circulated on social media about his behaviour towards other former partners, with one reported on Tuesday to have taken legal action to stop him contacting her friends and family.
Tributes began pouring in immediately once word spread.
“Sending love and condolences to his family [and] loved ones,” socialite Paris Hilton wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “RIP my friend.”
On Instagram, presenter Dermot O’Leary said he remembered Payne fondly.
“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.
“He was always a joy, had time for everyone, police, grateful and was always humble.”
