Liam Payne death latest: Hotel’s panicked call to police before One Direction star fell from balcony released
Singer was just 16 years old when he joined One Direction, a boyband formed by Simon Cowell on The X Factor in 2010
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One Direction star Liam Payne has died suddenly aged 31, after falling from a hotel balcony in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Local authorities have said they will conduct an autopsy and investigate the circumstances surrounding the singer’s death.
A hotel worker made a distressed call to police shortly before his death, it has emerged, in which they said a guest was “destroying everything in his room” and appeared to be “on drugs and alcohol”.
Workers reportedly heard a loud sound in the courtyard before Payne’s body was discovered just after 5pm local time (9pm UK time).
Stars including Liam Gallagher, X Factor host Dermot O’Leary and TV presenter and former contestant Rylan are among those to have paid tribute. Anne Twist, the mother of Payne’s former bandmate Harry Styles, wrote on Instagram: “Just a boy.”
Payne rose to fame while competing on season five of The X Factor in 2010, when he was placed in the band One Direction along with Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik.
They went on to become one of the world’s most successful boybands, selling 70 million records and performing in stadiums around the world.
Payne had a son, born in 2017, with former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Tweedy.
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Liam Payne tributes: Harry Styles’ mother and Liam Gallagher respond to One Direction star’s shock death
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What we know about One Direction’s Liam Payne’s shocking death at a Buenos Aires hotel
Liam Payne, the singer and former One Direction member, was found dead outside a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Wednesday night.
His friends and millions of fans are already paying tribute to the 31-year-old, who police say fell from a third-floor hotel balcony. He is survived by his parents, his two older sisters, and his seven-year-old son, Bear.
Here’s everything we know so far about Payne’s death and the circumstances leading up to it:
What we know about Liam Payne’s shocking death at a Buenos Aires hotel
Authorities are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the former One Direction member’s death
Harry Styles’s mom speaks out
Anne Twist, mother of fellow former One Direction member Harry Styles, posted a broken-heart emoji on Instagram soon after Liam Payne’s death was announced.
“Just a boy,” Twist wrote.
Liam Payne: The ambitious One Direction star who struggled with dark side of fame
Liam Payne, who rose to global fame as a member of the British pop band One Direction, has died aged 31.
The singer died after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Argentina, officials said on Wednesday 16 October. Pablo Policicchio, the spokesperson for the Security Ministry of Buenos Aires municipality, said in a statement to the Associated Press that police were dispatched to the hotel in response to an emergency call about an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol”.
Born in Wolverhampton, England, Payne was drawn to singers such as Usher and Justin Timberlake. He remembered his childhood as a happy one: his father, Geoff, worked as a fitter, while his mother, Karen, was a nursery nurse.
Read more:
Liam Payne: The ambitious One Direction star who struggled with dark side of fame
Singer, who rose to fame as a member of boyband One Direction, died aged 31 after falling from a hotel in Buenos Aires
ICYMI: Police called to hotel where Liam Payne died for report of intoxicated man
Police received a call just after 5 pm local time over an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol” at the hotel where Liam Payne died, Pablo Policicchio, the communications director for the Buenos Aires Security Ministry, told the Associated Press.
The hotel manager told police that there was “a guest who is overwhelmed with drugs and alcohol.”
“He’s destroying the entire room and, well, we need you to send someone, please,” the manager said, according to call audio obtained by the Associated Press.
Watch: One Direction singer Liam Payne dies aged 31
Watch: Police attend scene at Buenos Aires hotel after Liam Payne falls from balcony
Liam Payne death: Police attend scene at Buenos Aires hotel
Police have cordoned off the scene at the Casa Sur Hotel, in Beunos Aires, Argentina, after a tragic accident involving former One Direction star Liam Payne. The singer died aged 31 on October 17, 2024. Pablo Policicchio, a spokesperson for the Security Ministry of Buenos Aires municipality, said in a statement to Associated Press that Payne “had thrown himself from the balcony of his room”, sustaining extremely serious injuries. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene around 5pm local time. Footage shows an ambulance parked outside the hotel while authorities cordon off the area in the Palermo neighborhood, as crowds continued to gather nearby.
Officials confirmed Liam Payne’s death ‘on the spot’, official reveals
Liam Payne suffered “extremely serious injuries” when he fell from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, local police told the Associated Press.
Medics confirmed his death on the spot, according to the AP.
Police were initially called to the hotel over reports of an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” officials told the AP.
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