Former One Direction Star Liam Payne Dies After Fall from Hotel in Buenos Aires

Police Investigating Incident; Music World Mourns Tragic Loss

Liam Payne, a former member of the popular British boyband One Direction, has died at the age of 31 after reportedly falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Local police confirmed the incident, which occurred on Wednesday in the Palermo neighborhood, at a hotel on Costa Rica Street.

According to a statement provided by Buenos Aires police, officers from the 14B Police Station responded to a 911 call reporting an aggressive man at the hotel, suspected to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. However, the individual was not specifically identified as Payne in the police’s initial statement.

Payne was last seen in Argentina attending a concert by former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan on October 2. Social media videos from the event showed Payne among the crowd. Just weeks before, he had celebrated his 31st birthday in the UK, sharing moments of the celebration on his Snapchat.

Born in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, Payne was the youngest of three children. He studied music technology at City of Wolverhampton College before rising to fame as part of One Direction. The group, which included Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan, was formed in 2010 on the UK edition of The X Factor and quickly became one of the biggest boybands in the world.

In a 2015 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Payne spoke fondly of his time in One Direction, sharing his pride in co-writing the band’s hit song “What a Feeling.” He described it as a song inspired by Fleetwood Mac’s sound, saying, “It’s just a nice driving jam — imagine driving down the coast.”