File photo: Liam Payne//AFP
Buenos Aires, Argentina - British singer Liam Payne, a member of the best-selling boy band One Direction, died Wednesday aged 31 after plunging from the third floor of Buenos Aires hotel, police and emergency responders said.
It was not immediately clear if the fall was accidental or whether Payne, who has spoken publicly of struggles with alcohol abuse, may have been intoxicated.
Minutes after the news of his death broke, distraught fans -- most in their 20s and 30s -- and onlookers gathered near the scene in the Argentine capital, where medical teams were at work.
"The news hit me hard," fan Pilar Bilik, 27, said outside the hotel.
"So upsetting to hear the news of @LiamPayne passing. Sending love and condolences to his family & loved ones. RIP my friend," reality star and businesswoman Paris Hilton wrote on social media with a crying emoji.
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 singer had suffered "very serious injuries incompatible with life as a result of his fall," the head of the city's SAME emergency medical service, Alberto Crescenti, told local television, adding "there was no possibility of resuscitation."
Crescenti said emergency personnel rushed to the Casa Sur hotel in the city's Palermo neighborhood after an emergency call was made at 5:04 pm local time (2004 GMT).
They arrived seven minutes later and "verified the death of this man, who we later learnt was a singer."
Payne appeared to have suffered a fracture at the base of his skull from the fall Crescenti said was from "about 13 or 14 meters" (about 43-46 feet).
- Reports of a disturbance -
The police statement said the call had been made to report "an aggressive man who may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol."
Argentine press reported on what they said was the emergency call from a hotel manager reporting a guest "on drugs and destroying the room."
The manager told the operator the guest "has a balcony, and we are afraid they might do something to put their life at risk."
The Buenos Aires security ministry in a statement said that when officers arrived, the hotel manager reported "the death of a man who had jumped from the balcony of his room."
The Clarin newspaper published photos of what it said was the interior of Payne's room, with white powder seen on a table next to a piece of aluminum foil and a lighter, and a television with a broken screen.
A body was removed from the hotel around 8:30 pm local time by a firetruck, as fans cried and applauded solemnly.
- 'Part of adolescence lost' -
British-Irish pop 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 songs each year in time for the holiday shopping season and became one of the highest-grossing live acts in the world.
In 2016, after Malik had left, the group said it was 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.
In 2017, he welcomed a son with his then-partner Cheryl Cole, a British singer and television personality.
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.
File photo: The English-Irish pop band One Direction (Liam Payne left) attends the 2015 Billboard Music Awards, May 17, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas,//AFP
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 in rehab 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.
Payne had attended a concert by former band mate Horan in Buenos Aires on October 2, according to Billboard magazine.
"I feel like it's a part of adolescence lost," fan Lena Duek, 21, said outside the hotel Wednesday, adding she had been hoping for the band, whose music was the soundtrack of her teen years, to reunite.
