Latest updates as Liam Payne found dead at 31: Police reveal details of One Direction star’s shocking injuries as fans line streets of Buenos Aires

Liam Payne, the singer and One Direction band member, has died in Argentina after he fell from a third floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires.

News of his death emerged late last night after police were called to the Casa Sur Hotel where Payne had been staying after he arrived in the South American country earlier this month.

If you’re just joining us this morning, here’s everything you need to know:

• Liam Payne was declared dead after he fell 45ft from the third floor into a courtyard at the Casa Sur Hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood in Buenos Aires.
• Argentinian media reported police were called to the hotel last night to reports of an aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
• In an emergency call by hotel staff, workers raised fears about the balcony in Payne’s room and told police he ‘might do something’.
• Authorities said he died after suffering ‘very serious injuries’ and that a post-mortem examination will take place at a local morgue.
• Payne had arrived in Argentina earlier this month with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy to attend his ex-bandmate Niall Horan’s concert and stayed on in the country after she left two days earlier.
• His death comes days after his ex-fiancée Maya Henry started legal proceedings against him with her lawyers instructed to issue a cease and desist letter following accusations he was repeatedly contacting her.
• Celebrities in the UK and beyond have paid tribute to Payne as well as relatives of his One Direction bandmates Niall Horan and Harry Styles.

Liam Payne and former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan never shied away from expressing their love for each other.

Here is a look back at some of their most heartfelt moments together over the years.

Liam Payne has been praised for his ‘compassion and kindness’ by a food bank charity he had supported since the Covid pandemic.

The singer had said he was glad to be able to play ‘my small part’ in donating to provide hundreds of thousands of meals, as well as getting involved at his local food bank.

Anti-poverty charity Trussell, which runs a network of 1,400 food bank locations across the UK, said Payne had been a ‘generous supporter’ of its work for the past four years.

In March 2020, Payne donated to the charity – then known as Trussell Trust – to support more than 100 food bank centres in Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Coventry, Sheffield, Nottingham and Bristol as they provided help to people in crisis.

Following his death yesterday, Trussell chief executive Emma Revie paid tribute to the One Direction star:

We are extremely saddened by the news of Liam Payne’s death.

Over the last four years, Liam was a generous supporter of Trussell and our community of food banks, not only funding the provision of more than 360,000 meals during Covid but also often joining us in calling for the solutions required to end the need for emergency food.

We greatly appreciate the compassion and kindness he always showed to people facing hunger and hardship. His death is a very tragic loss, and our thoughts are with his loved ones.

Before Liam’s incredible rise to fame on The X Factor and successful career in the British band he had an extremely normal and down to earth childhood with loving parents and two older sisters who he shared an extremely close bond with.

His mother and father were Karen , a humble nurse, and Geoff Payne, a fitter – who regularly spoke of how proud they were that their son was a member of the famous band.

Liam had two older sisters, Nicola and Ruth Payne, making him the youngest of three siblings in the tight-knit family who seemed completely unbothered about a life in the spotlight.

Australian radio host Smallzy pays tribute to One Direction star Liam Payne saying that he was ‘a fun guy, and one of the boys’.

On Sky News Breakfast to Kay Burley the Aussie host said ‘he was someone who enjoyed music’.

The brother of fellow One Direction star Niall Horan has paid tribute to Liam Payne following his shock death yesterday.

Greg Horan said Liam was like a brother to Niall, adding the 31-year-old will be ‘forever missed’.

Tributes are continuing to pour in for Liam as the showbiz world reacts to the One Direction star’s shocking death.

TV presenter Laura Whitemore posted an image of her with Liam at the Brit Awards, saying she ‘can’t believe’ the star’s passing.

The X Factor’s official account on X also shared a heartfelt tribute to the ‘immensely talented’ musician.

From cheeky winks to becoming a member of a hit global boy band – here are some iconic moments from Liam Payne’s X Factor journey.

Payne’s journey to stardom began when he was just 14-years-old at his lesser-known first audition for The X Factor.

The Wolverhampton teenager reached the judges’ house stage and no further in 2008, but came back two years later as Simon Cowell had asked.

At 16, Payne initially auditioned as a solo act but was given a second chance to come back as part of a group at Bootcamp, forming what would become one of the talent show’s biggest success stories – One Direction.

The band – comprising of Payne, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson (pictured together below in 2012) – rose to international fame despite only placing third in the show.

They became one of the biggest pop groups in the world with five albums, four world tours, one movie and a memorable music video for Red Nose Day in 2013 which featured then prime minister David Cameron happening upon them dancing in front of Number 10 Downing Street.

But six years after they were formed, with more than 20 million albums sold, the band were placed on indefinite hiatus with Malik having already left in 2015 to pursue a solo career.

Liam Payne’s ex-fiancée Maya Henry is ‘in shock’ over his death according to a source close to the influencer.

A source close to Henry told MailOnline: ‘Right now she is obviously in shock.’

The model only found out when a member of her team was contacted by a reporter.

The pair are pictured together

below at Paris Fashion Week in 2019.

Boy band McFly shared a heartfelt tribute to the late singer following his death yesterday at the age of 31.

Rapper Quavo also shared a picture of Liam on his Instagram story with the words ‘Rest in Paradise’.

Around one month before the shocking death of former One Direction singer Liam Payne, his girlfriend Kate Cassidy took to TikTok to tell on her own words how she met and fell in love with Liam.

Liam was a former student at the City of Wolverhampton College where he studied music. Following his death, principal and chief executive at City of Wolverhampton College Louise Fall, said:

We were sorry to hear the news about former student Liam Payne and wish to extend our sympathies to his family and friends at this very sad time.

West Bromwich Albion have joined the tributes to the One Direction star following his shock death at the age of 31.

The Championship football club shared a tribute on X to the singer, who had previously spoken of his support for the team.

Former The Xtra Factor presenter Konnie Huq said she told Liam Payne when Justin Bieber was on the show that he would ‘be as big as him one day’ and Payne was ‘self-deprecating’ but ‘absolutely did get to that level’.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:

I actually found out last night (about his death), but ‘just a boy’ is so right, because really all he’s known in his adult, and pre-adult life as well to some extent, is being in the limelight, and, you know, thrust into this position of global fame, not just sort of being known in your own country, but everywhere, essentially.

But I do remember we had Justin Bieber on the show, and Liam sort of had the same hairstyle, bore a striking resemblance, and so we got him to come on the show. He was really embarrassed to meet Justin.

And then afterwards, I was like ‘You will be as big as him one day’ and he was actually kind of self-deprecating, it was quite mature of Liam, of the boys, and, you know, he absolutely did get to that level, but it’s a lot for young people to take on.

Liam previously spole candidly about his battles with alcoholism while appearing on Steven Bartlett’s podcast, The Diary Of A CEO, back in 2021.

Radio hosts Ronan Kemp and Scott Mills shared poignant tribute to the late singer following his death in Argentina yesterday.

Former X factor contestant Cher Lloyd also shared a tribute to Liam, who both appeared on the show at the same time.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain earlier today, host Richard Madeley revealed Liam had ‘recently celebrated being 100 days clean’ in the days before his death.

A number of industry bodies joined those paying tribute, including streaming giant Spotify, MTV and the Brit Awards, who all said in separate statements that they are ‘deeply saddened’ by Payne’s death.

Chilling details of a panicked 999 call emerged today following Liam’s death at the Casa Sur Hotel in Argentina.

The 31-year-old had reportedly been acting erratically and was escorted back to his hotel room before plunging to his death yesterday afternoon.

A hotel reception worker in Buenos Aires made a frantic 999 call requesting ‘urgent’ assistance before he died.

Max met Liam while he was competing on The X Factor with One Direction. He wrote on X this morning:

DJ and music producer Zedd, who featured alongside Payne on the 2017 song Get Low, posted a tribute to the star on X:

Ant Middleton’s Instragram post comes after he reacted to the news of Liam’s death during a live interview on Thursday morning.

Ant, 44, held back tears as he shared some of his most memorable moments with the singer on The Morning Show in Australia.

The former marine, who is best know for his role on Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins, shared a photo of him and Liam enjoying a sunset. He wrote:

That was some sunset you captured there mate! A talented positive man with a good heart. I’m glad our friendship flourished and that I was someone you could confine in. Your turn to look over me now bro! Luv ya and will miss you sorely…

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has described the death of Liam Payne as ‘very sad news’.

She told Sky News on Thursday morning: ‘It’s very sad news, it’s no age for someone to lose their life, and my thoughts are with his friends and family, this must be a total shock for them and very, very upsetting.’

She said of his friends and family that ‘my thoughts are with them at what must be a really difficult time’.

The former singer wrote on Instagram:

This is the saddest news to wake up to! So young! For his family and friends who are waking up to this, my heart breaks for you all. And as for TMZ you should be ashamed of yourself! Absolutely disgusting and disgraceful and no respect!

As a mother who had to tell their child her daddy was gone, do you have any idea how difficult that is let alone having press releasing shitty pics and headlines!!!!

RIP @liampayne 💔 As for the paps and press please I beg you to leave the mother of his only child and their son alone!!!!! You have no idea what they are going through!

The BBC Radio 2 presenter shared a black and white image of the former One Direction singer saying:

Devastating news, dear Liam Payne. Thoughts & love to his family, friends and fans. ✨❤️🕊️

The former JLS star shared this picture of him and Liam smiling together, with the words:

I first met Liam in 2008 with the JLS boys whilst auditioning for X Factor..he was 14 years old..we instantly clicked and looked at him as a little brother..that year it worked out for us but not for him and then 2 years later he went back to audition and One Direction was born..the rest is history..

Absolutely heartbroken by the tragic news..Liam you wanted to be a global superstar and you did it bro..just can’t believe that things have ended this way..it’s shocking..my thoughts and prayers are with all your family and friends brother..RIP 🖤

Olly Murs says he is ‘devastated’ and ‘lost for words’ after hearing about Liam Payne’s death.

The former X Factor contestant, who appeared on the show in 2009, took to Instagram to pay tribute to the One Direction Star.

Murs wrote on social media: ‘This news is devastating, am lost for words. We always had a good laugh when we saw each other, sometimes the catch ups were only short and sweet but when we did it was mostly about how annoyingly good his hair always looked, or our love for Becks, the old XF days and the tour we shared together.

‘Liam shared the same passions as me, the same dreams so to see his life now end so young hits hard, I’m truly gutted and devastated for his Family and of course his son Bear losing a dad x am thinking of them! RIP Liam.’

Liam Payne rose to fame in the boyband One Direction – a group put together on X Factor in 2010 when the members were all teenagers.

Despite coming third on the show, they went onto global fame, selling 70 million records worlwide and topping the charts all across the world.

They became the first band in the history of the US charts to see their first four albums debut at number one.

BBC Media editor Katie Razzall told the Today Prgramme: ‘They reinvented the boyband. I remember after the came out my little daughter and her freinds signing their songs in the playground. They were all obsessed.

‘I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say they were the definitive pop band of their era.’

Heartbroken fans have descended on the Buenos Aries hotel where former One Direction member Liam Payne died last night to lay candles and flowers in tribute to the singer.

The popstar fell to his death from the third floor of a room in the Casa Sur Palmero Hotel shortly after 5pm (ART) yesterday .

Local police said they had been called to the luxury hotel prior to Liam’s fall after being ‘informed of an aggressive man who may have been under the effects of drugs and alcohol.’

He had reportedly arrived in the Latin American country earlier this month to attend his ex bandmate Niall Horan’s concert.

Last night, thousands of fans gathered outside the hotel, while emergency services worked at the scene around a central red tent at the location the star fell.

Some lit candles, some sang One Direction songs and others held each sobbing as they paused to remember Mr Payne who was one fifth of the most succesful boy band of the 2010s.

In order to control the crowd, Argentinian police were forced to form a line in front of the hotel to stop fans getting too close to the scene.

The One Direction alum died Wednesday after reportedly falling from a third-floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Authorities are investigating the circumstances of his death and will conduct an autopsy.

In wake of the news, a 2014 photo has resurfaced online of Payne standing on a narrow ledge on the 34th floor of his East London apartment building.

He originally shared the shocking image to Twitter (now X) after a wild night of partying in London for One Direction bandmate Zayn Malik’s 21st birthday.

The singer, wearing a plaid shirt and black pants, stood just inches away from the building’s edge.

In an Instagram video uploaded at the time, the late star told his followers, ‘I didn’t get any dad socks yet though. I’m going to speak to my son in a little bit which I’m really excited about.

‘Bless him. He’s getting so big now. He’s a big boy and he looks like a mini me. As if we needed any more me in the world.’

Liam died on Wednesday after falling from the third floor of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was just 31.

As a fan who has followed Liam’s career since the very beginning, from One Direction’s meteoric rise to his solo success, I’ve been lucky enough to meet him on several occasions.

And despite the chaos that comes with fame, each time he was kind and generous.

But there was a dark side too – a side I saw during his last visit to Australia and it will haunt me forever.’

Following news of his sudden passing, fans took to social media to share clips of Liam from the music video of the boy band’s tune, where he sang a melancholy verse.

‘She told me in the morning/ She don’t feel the same about us in her bones/ It seems to me that when I die/ These words will be written on my stone,’ Liam sings at the end of the first verse.

Later on he sings in verse two: ‘I know that in the morning/ I’ll see us in the light up on the hill/ Although I am broken, my heart is untamed still.’

Story of My Life is a nostalgic ballad from One Direction that explores the journey of life and how experiences shape who we are.

Alberto Crescenti, head of Argentina’s emergency medical system, told the local press that authorities were investigating the circumstances of Liam Payne’s death and conducting an autopsy.

Buenos Aires police said in a statement 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 communications director for the Buenos Aires Security Ministry, said in a statement to The Associated Press that Payne “had jumped from the balcony of his room.’

Police rushed to the hotel in response to an emergency call just after 5 p.m. local time, he said, warning of an ‘aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.’

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. Representatives for Payne did not immediately return emails and calls.

Liam Payne’s ‘extraordinary’ X Factor audition is going viral again in wake of the singer’s shock death.

It was reported that the One Direction alum, 31, had died Wednesday after falling off a third floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It’s unknown whether the fall was intentional or accidental.

Fans flocked to YouTube to watch Payne’s first-ever audition on the UK talent competition show in 2008, when he was just 14-years-old.

Although he made it through to the Judges’ Houses round, Payne was ultimately sent home.

Cowell encouraged Payne to try out again in ‘two years,’ which is when he’d achieve global superstardom as part of the boy band One Direction.

Witnesses say the One Direction star, 31, plummeted from his room at the CasaSur Palmero Hotel shortly after 5pm (ART) Wednesday evening.

A crowd of emotional fans have since come together to pay their respects to the young pop star following his sudden death.

Mourners have been seen lighting candles as a vigil is held for the father-of-one.

Fans were seen embracing each other as they cried, while others stood behind police tape.

Anne took to Instagram posting a broken heart emoji over a black screen, with the caption: ‘Just a boy…’ alongside another broken heart.

Her 2.5 million followers expressed similar sentiments, with one writing, ‘Tragic and heartbreaking.’

‘I am in total shock. My condolences to your family and also to his family and friends,’ another added.

Former X Factor presenter Dermot O’Leary described shock reports of Liam Payne’s death as ‘the worst news’.

He said: ‘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.

‘He was always a joy, had time for everyone, polite, grateful, and was always humble.

‘Sending love and prayers to his family. Dx’

Meanwhile fellow contestant and presenter Rylan Clark wrote to his 1.7million followers on X: ‘Extremely sad news. V tragic and so young. RIP Liam x’

Clark, 35 and Payne did not appear in the same series but were nevertheless both alumni of the hit ITV talent show.

Fellow former contestant Katie Waissel wrote: ‘My heart is completely torn to shreds right now, I am at an absolute loss for words.’

Jedward, aka John and Edward Grimes, wrote: ‘RIP Liam Payne 💔 condolences to friends and family’.’

He was the joyful Brummie who couldn’t believe his luck when he found himself as one fifth of X Factor phenomenon One Direction.

But last night singer Liam Payne was found dead after falling from the third floor of a hotel in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires. It is not known if it was intentional or not.

He was found on Wednesday at the CasaSur Palermo hotel.

Friends of the 31-year-old star were shocked at the news which came just days after his former girlfriend Maya Henry called in lawyers as she begins legal action against Liam after accusing him of obsessive contact and ‘weaponising’ his fans against her.

Buenos Aires police has confirmed that Liam 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.’

He was declared dead at the scene, the statement added.

Pablo Policicchio, the spokesperson for the Security Ministry of Buenos Aires municipality, added that 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.’

When police arrived, they found Payne’s body in the hotel courtyard, Policicchio said.

An investigation has been launched and an autopsy will take place in due course, officials confirmed.

Police said they were responding to a scene at the hotel when officials heard a loud sound in an interior courtyard.

Officers then discovered a body, identified as that of Mr Payne.

Emergency medical services director Alberto Crescenti said he had suffered ‘serious injuries’ from the fall and confirmed an investigation into the death is ongoing.

Forensic teams join firefighters and police at the hotel in upscale Palermo this evening as crowds gather outside.

Singer Charlie Puth has shared a series of photos and videos to his Instagram as he paid tribute to the late One Direction star.

The 32-year-old Light Switch hitmaker posted a sweet photograph of the pair, each pointing to the other and with their arms around one another.

He wrote to his 18.4million followers: ‘I am in shock right now. Liam was always so kind to me.

‘He was one of the first major artists I got to work with.

‘I can not believe he is gone.’

Liam Payne’s final video messages to his fans have emerged, which were posted just hours before news of his death.

The 31-year-old looked relaxed and happy as he swung the camera around to share his view of the vista and said: ‘It’s a lovely day here in Argentina’.

He then showed his current partner Kate Cassidy having breakfast, mentioning they were ‘enjoying breakfast and coffee’ at about 1pm.

She responded: ‘Literally we sleep in every day until about 12pm. We’re such losers.’

Liam shook his head, before simply adding with a smile: ‘No.’

The 31-year-old British musician was found dead after falling from his third floor hotel room balcony, police said this evening.

In a statement, the capital police said they were called to the hotel in the capital’s leafy Palermo neighborhood.

Emergency workers confirmed the death of the singer, who was reportedly found in the hotel’s interior patio.

‘Our hearts are absolutely broken and we wish much light and strength for his family and loved ones,’ MTV’s Latin American branch wrote in a post on social media platform X.

Liam Payne performs during the TAB Everest Race Day at Royal Randwick Racecourse on October 13, 2018