Liam Payne was “acting erratically” and had to be escorted back to his room in the hours before he fell to his death. Hotel staff called police in a panic before the star tragically plunged to his death.
The 31-year-old singer was in Buenos Aires, Argentina, when he fell from the third floor of the Casa Sur Palermo hotel. An employee in Buenos Aires reported “an aggressive man who may have been under the effects of drugs and alcohol” to the police, reports the Mail Online.
The singer, who was born in Wolverhampton, was found dead just after 5pm local time after staff heard a loud noise in the hotel courtyard. Local media said that Payne “had to be carried back to his room” after “acting erratically in the hotel lobby and smashing his laptop”.
According to case-related audio recordings taken from the Buenos Aires security ministry, police had been called by a hotel employee urgently seeking assistance with an intoxicated guest. “When he is conscious he is destroying the entire room and we need you to send someone,” the worker said.
Emergency medical services director Alberto Crescenti said Liam had suffered “very serious injuries after falling from a third floor into an internal courtyard”. “We verified his identity using the passport he had,” he said. “The team saw that he apparently had a fracture at the base of the skull.”
In order to conduct a post-mortem examination, his body was taken to a nearby mortuary. Since then, unverified photos have surfaced online claiming to show Liam’s hotel room entirely trashed, with one image showing a shattered television screen.
The UK Foreign Office confirmed it is in contact with authorities in Argentina “regarding reports of the death of a British man”.
TV presenter Dermot O’Leary, who was a host of the X Factor where Liam shot to fame, said the star’s death was the “worst news”. He wrote on Instagram: “The worst news. 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.”
Earlier this month, Liam travelled to the Latin American nation to see his former bandmate Niall Horan perform live.
Emergency medical services director Mr Crescenti said Mr Payne had fallen around 40metres and suffered “severe injuries which were incompatible with life”. He said: “The alarm was raised at 5.04pm local time saying a person was lying in an internal patio at Casa Sur. At 5.11pm an ambulance arrived and the man was certified dead.
“Afterwards we found out he had been a famous singer. Unfortunately the injuries he had suffered as a result of the fall proved to be fatal. There was no possibility of resuscitating him.”
Originally taken in August of last year, the star’s farewell Snapchat image had him and his partner, Kate Cassidy, smiling while they gazed into a mirror. The actor was seen having lunch in his hotel room in later photos from his last days, in which he disclosed that the two had been “waking up at 1pm every day” and decided on Forest Gump as his Halloween costume.
A further tragic selfie was captioned: “Lovely day in Argentina” before the star shared a photo of his hotel, writing: “Happy I got some time away” followed by a heart emoji. He shared a further photo with Kate captioned: ‘Quality time.’
Liam began his pursuit to stardom when he initially auditioned for X Factor in 2008. He and his former bandmates Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, were brought together by Simon Cowell and former judge Nicole Scherzinger who saw their potential as a group. After finishing third on the X Factor, Cowell sealed their fate by signing the five-some to a reported £2million Syco contract.
When One Direction’s debut song, “What Makes You Beautiful,” was released in September of that year, it became the most pre-ordered Sony Music Entertainment single ever and shot to the top of the UK Singles Chart. In addition to being a best-seller, their debut album Up All Night became the fastest-selling debut album in the UK in 2011. This achievement paved the way for their first tour, which began in the UK that December.
Tributes have poured in online, with fellow former X Factor contestants Jedwad writing: “RIP Liam Payne. Condolences to his friends and family. Sending strength to Cheryl and his son Bear, and all the One Direction family.”
Ex-X Factor contestant and TV personality Rylan Clark said: “Extremely sad news. Very tragic and so young. RIP Liam x” Paris Hilton wrote: “So upsetting to hear the news of Liam Payne passing. Sending love and condolences to his family and loves oned. RIP my friend.”
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