Liam Payne: Fans gather at hotel after One Direction star falls to death in Buenos Aires

Distraught fans gathered in shock and disbelief on Wednesday outside the doors of a Buenos Aires hotel to mourn the death of British singer and former One Direction member Liam Payne.

Payne tragically died at the age of 31 after falling from a third-floor balcony at a hotel in Argentina’s capital of Buenos Aires on Wednesday, 16 October.

In an outpour of grief, the fans were mourning the music icon by lighting candles, singing One Direction songs and holding moments of silence.

In a statement, police said they discovered Payne’s body after an emergency crew responded to a call in the upmarket neighbourhood of Palermo on Wednesday, 16 October.

‘It’s a lovely day in Argentina’ – Liam Payne

Payne rose to global fame as part of the hugely popular British-Irish boyband created on the X Factor TV show in 2010, along with Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik.

He embarked on a solo career after One Direction announced they were going to take an indefinite break in 2015.

The pop star appeared to post on Snapchat just hours before the incident, sharing photos of himself with his partner Kate Cassidy as well as videos, saying:

“It’s a lovely day here in Argentina.”

It appears he filmed the videos earlier in the week and then posted them in his final hours.

‘No possibility of resuscitation’

It was not immediately clear if the fall was accidental.

Payne had spoken publicly about his struggles with alcohol, and local police said they responded to a report of “an aggressive man who may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol”.

“Liam James Payne, composer and guitarist, former member of the band One Direction, died today after falling from the third floor of a hotel,” according to another police statement.

Buenos Aires emergency medical service head Alberto Crescenti told local television that there had been “no possibility of resuscitation”.

The singer and songwriter appeared to have suffered a fracture at the base of his skull from the fall that Crescenti said was from “about 13 or 14 metres”.

Crescenti declined to answer questions about the circumstances of Payne’s fall from the balcony.

Liam Payne: Reports of a disturbance

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.”