Former One Direction star Liam Payne has reportedly been found dead outside a hotel in Buenos Aires, in Argentina, according to local newspaper La Nacion.
The 31-year-old is believed to have fallen from the third floor of a hotel at around 5pm local time the newspaper said, citing emergency services.
According to La Nacion the local police station was called by the hotel manager who reported “an aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol”.
It is reported that Payne fell from around 13 or 14 metres and suffered “very serious injuries incompatible with life.”
Alberto Crescenti, head of the state emergency medical system SAME (El Sistema de Atención Médica de Emergencias), told local TV that Payne had fallen into a courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood.
“At 17.11, a SAME team arrived and confirmed the man’s death. We later learned that he was a singer in a musical group.
“Unfortunately, he had injuries incompatible with life as a result of his fall, so we had to confirm his death. There was no possibility of resuscitation.”
Payne was one of the founding members of One Direction, one of the most loved boy bands of the past decade.
He auditioned first as a solo act for the UK reality series The X Factor in 2008, before being eliminated.
In 2010 he auditioned again and was grouped with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik by the judges to form One Direction.
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