Former One Direction star Liam Payne dies aged 31

Former One Direction star Liam Payne has reportedly died, aged 31, after falling from a hotel in Argentina.

The British singer and musician was found dead after falling from the Buenos Aires hotel’s third floor, local papers reported, citing emergency services, according to news agency Reuters.

La Nacion and Clarin stated that police were called to the hotel in the city’s Palermo neighbourhood responding to an emergency call that cited “an aggressive man who could be under the effects of drugs and alcohol.”

According to news reports, ambulance workers later confirmed the death of the singer, who was found in an interior hotel patio.

It is being widely reported that a local ambulance manager told TN: “At 17.04 [local time] through the 911 integrated public safety system, we were alerted of a person who was in an internal courtyard of the management of a south house hotel.

“At 17.11 a SAME team arrived and verified the death of this man and later we found out that he was a singer in a musical group. Unfortunately, he had injuries that were incompatible with life, as a result of his fall, so we had to confirm his death, there was no possibility of resuscitation.”

Liam Payne shot to fame as part of pop band One Direction, which also featured singers Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik.

The group were formed on The X Factor in 2010, and despite finishing third, went on to become one of the world’s most successful boy bands. They released four albums together, with Malik departing in 2015, before the release of the band’s fifth and final record.

The remaining members of One Direction went on ‘hiatus’ in 2016 to pursue solo careers. Payne later released an album, LP1, in 2019.

Payne had a son, Bear, who was born in 2017, with Girls Aloud singer Cheryl.