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Payne fell from third-floor hotel room balcony

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Hotel worker sought help for intoxicated guest

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Shocked music industry expresses grief

(Updates with detail on body being removed in paragraph 11,

Niall Horan concert in paragraph 19)

By Eliana Raszewski and Agustin Marcarian

BUENOS AIRES, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Former One Direction

singer Liam Payne was found dead outside a hotel in Buenos Aires

after the 31-year-old fell from his third-floor room balcony,

Argentine police said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the capital police said they were called to

the hotel in the capital's leafy Palermo neighborhood where they

were notified of an "aggressive man who could be under the

effects of drugs and alcohol."

The hotel manager said he heard a loud noise at the back of

the hotel, and when police arrived they found that a man had

fallen over the balcony in his room, the statement said.

Emergency workers confirmed the death of the British singer,

who was reportedly found in the hotel's interior patio.

"I am in shock right now. Liam was always so kind to me,"

American singer Charlie Puth said on Instagram. "He was one of

the first major artists I got to work with. I cannot believe he

is gone."

U.S. music channel MTV, streaming service Spotify ( SPOT ) and

the BRITs British music awards all expressed their grief on

social media, sending their condolences to his family and loved

ones.

Payne had a son named Bear with British TV personality and

Girls Aloud singer Cheryl in 2017.

Neither Payne's record label Republic Records, nor its owner

Universal Music Group, could immediately be reached for

comment.

Police had received a call from a worker at the hotel

requesting urgent help with an intoxicated guest, according to

audio related to the case obtained from the Buenos Aires

security ministry.

"When he is conscious he is destroying the entire room

and we need you to send someone," the worker said, adding that

the guest's life was at risk because their room had a balcony.

Emergency responders removed the body from the hotel to take

to the morgue, while fans and onlookers who had gathered through

the early evening, some hugging each other and crying, burst

into applause.

CROWD GATHERS TO MOURN BOY BAND STAR

The "For You" singer rose to global fame as part of the

since-disbanded pop band One Direction, alongside Harry Styles,

Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson.

The boy band got its start after finishing third on the

British version of the X Factor music competition show in 2010,

but the group broke up in 2016 as its members pursued different

projects including solo careers.

One Direction was ranked the third greatest boy band of all

time by Entertainment Weekly in 2024. According to Celebrity Net

Worth, Payne's One Direction and solo career helped garner him a

net worth of some $70 million.

Reuters reporters at the scene saw crowds gathering outside

the hotel, where dozens of police and emergency services teams

had cordoned off an area as night fell on the city.

Local news outlet Todo Noticias TV interviewed Hernan

Palazzo, who works near the hotel in Palermo, who said, "The

neighborhood is very shaken up ... There's a lot of police, some

fans arriving. It is very sad."

One Direction fan Violeta Antier told Reuters she had

come straight away after he sister told her Payne had died.

"I saw him two weeks ago at a Niall (Horan) concert,

another One Direction member. He was there, I saw him," she

said. "He was ok."

Payne had on Oct. 2 attended the Buenos Aires concert of

his former bandmate Niall Horan on the Argentine leg of a Latin

American tour that spanned Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Peru and

Colombia. The two had posted videos together and with fans.

The musician has previously spoken publicly about his

struggles with mental health and using alcohol to cope with the

pressures of fame.

Last year he published a video to fans on his YouTube

channel in which he spoke about having given up alcohol and

thanked supporters for sticking with him through difficult

times.

Earlier on Wednesday, Payne had appeared to post on Snapchat

about his trip in Argentina, talking about riding horses,

playing polo, and looking forward to returning home to see his

dog.

"It's a lovely day here in Argentina," he said in the video.