Liam Payne has died at age 31 after falling from the third floor of a hotel balcony, prompting an outpouring of grief from fans.
The former One Direction star was vacationing in Argentina with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, when the tragic accident occurred.
Police in Buenos Aires released a statement on Wednesday (October 16) that Payne suffered “extremely serious injuries” after falling from the third floor of the Casa Sur Hotel, reports The Mirror.
The singer was confirmed dead by medics in a statement. Alberto Crescenti, the head of the state emergency medical system, announced on Argentina’s Todo Noticias TV channel that the artist fell into a courtyard.
The chief added that authorities were investigating the circumstances surrounding his death and were conducting an autopsy.
Crescenti said: “At 17.04 through the 911 integrated public safety system, we were alerted of a person who was in an internal courtyard of the management of a south house hotel.
“At 17.11 a SAME team arrived and verified the death of this man and later we found out that he was a singer in a musical group.
“Unfortunately, he had injuries that were incompatible with life, as a result of his fall, so we had to confirm his death, there was no possibility of resuscitation.”
Liam was visiting the South American country to attend a performance by his former bandmate, Niall Horan.
In his last heart-wrenching Instagram Post, Liam shared a photo of One Direction. In the reminiscent snap, Liam stands next to Morgan, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik.
Liam’s captions read: “Rest in peace Morgan Spurlock it was a pleasure working with you.”
From his amazing career on stage, Liam garnered a large fortune of reportedly £46 million. In an emotional 2022 interview, the star alluded that the income was all for his son Bear Payne. Liam said he planned to hand down several companies to his child when he grew up.
The star revealed details about being a father on an episode of the Impaulsive podcast earlier this week, where he was interviewed by Logan Paul.
Liam spoke about raising his five-year-old son whom he shares with his ex-partner Cheryl, who he dated from 2016 to 2018. The performer told the host that his fortune is for his son’s future.
He said: “My life now is his, my money is his. I have actually got several companies that are up and running that I know he can run one day if he wants to or [he can sell them]”.
Liam and Cheryl announced Bear’s birth in March 2017. The proud father said he was “blessed” to have his son in his life and described being a dad as “the coolest thing”. Liam said taking his son to school is one of his “favourite things.”
The former One Direction star revealed that he and Cheryl live near each other and have a constructive co-parent relationship – Liam described her in the interview as “the best mum in the world”.
The star said they remain friends and that “I know [Bear is being] taken care of [by her].”
The singer – who had auditioned for Cheryl on the X Factor years before they began a relationship – said he “couldn’t ask for someone better” to raise his son with.
Liam auditioned for the X Factor in 2008 and 2010. He was placed into band One Direction in the latter series. Cheryl had been a judge on the show in both those years.
He joked that eventually partnering up with Cheryl years after auditioning for her on X Factor was the “weirdest how I met your mother story ever”.
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