BUENOS AIRES: British singer Liam Payne, a former member of the best-selling boy band One Direction, died on Wednesday aged 31 after plunging from the third floor of a Buenos Aires hotel, police and emergency responders said. It was not immediately clear if the fall was accidental. Payne had spoken publicly about struggles with alcohol, and police said they responded to a report of “an aggressive man who may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.” Minutes after the news of Payne’s death broke, distraught fans - most in their 20s and 30s - 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. Police said in a statement 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.” Alberto Crescenti, head of the Buenos Aires emergency medical service, told local television that there had been “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. 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 that Crescenti said was from “about 13 or 14 meters”. The UK’s foreign office confirmed it was in contact with Argentine authorities “regarding reports of the death of a British man”, but declined to identify the man or comment further. Argentine media outlets reported on what they said was an emergency call from a hotel manager reporting a guest “on drugs and destroying the room.” 

The manager reportedly 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 said in a statement 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 fire truck, as fans cried and applauded solemnly.

‘The worst news’

British-Irish pop sensations 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 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. Former X Factor presenter Dermot O’Leary posted a tribute to Payne on Instagram following reports of the singer’s death. “The worst news,” he wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of them standing on stage together. “I remember him as a 14 year old turning up to audition on The X Factor, and blowing us away singing Sinatra. He just loved to sing.”

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 bandmate 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. – AFP