Liam Payne, former One Direction star, has died at the age of 31.
The singer, who rose to fame as one-fifth of the chart-topping boy band, passed away after falling from the third floor of an Argentine hotel, according to the Buenos Aires local newspaper La Nacion.
The singer died on Wednesday at 5pm local time. Local authorities confirmed the news to CNN.
“Liam James Payne, composer and guitarist, former member of the band One Direction, died today after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Palermo,” Buenos Aires police said in a statement.
Alberto Crescenti, head of the state emergency medical system, told Argentina’s Todo Noticias TV channel that the For You singer had fallen into an internal courtyard at the hotel.
“A few minutes later [an] emergency team arrived and confirmed the death of this man who we later learned was from a musical group. He had injuries incompatible with life as a result of his fall. There was no way to do anything,” Crescenti added (via The Guardian).
The singer shot to fame alongside Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan in the group, which finished third place on ‘The X Factor’ in 2010.
The Story Of My Life hitmakers announced they were taking a hiatus in 2015, after which Payne released his debut solo album ‘LP1’ in 2019.
He welcomed a son, Bear, with Girls Aloud star Cheryl Cole, in 2017.