Liam Payne, musician and former One Direction member, dead at 31

Multiple outlets are reporting that Payne died after falling from the third floor of a Buenos Aires hotel, and local authorities are investigating.

Multiple outlets are reporting that Liam Payne, British musician and a former member of One Direction, has died after falling from the third floor of a Buenos Aires hotel. He was 31.

Buenos Aires police said in a statement to the Associated Press that Payne fell from the third floor of the Casa Sur Hotel in the trendy Palermo neighborhood of Argentina’s capital, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.” Medics confirmed his death on the spot, the statement said.

Pablo Policicchio, the spokesperson for the Security Ministry of Buenos Aires municipality, said in a statement to The Associated Press that Payne “had thrown himself from the balcony of his room.”

He said 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.” Arriving police heard a thud and found Payne’s body in the hotel courtyard, Policicchio said.

The news first surfaced on Argentinian media, which reported that police were investigating whether the death was an accident or self-inflicted.

The director of Buenos Aires’ ambulance service, SAME, confirmed the death to the TN outlet.

“He had injuries incompatible with life as a result of his fall,” Alberta Crescenti told TN, in a translated statement. He declined to answer further questions but confirmed an autopsy would be performed.

Payne had been vocal about struggling with alcoholism, posting a video in July 2023 to his YouTube channel where he said he had been sober for six months after receiving treatment.