Police in Argentina are reportedly planning to investigate who supplied drugs to Liam Payne if evidence confirms narcotics were found in his hotel room before he fell to his death.
The former One Direction star, 31, fell 40 feet from the third floor of his hotel room into the courtyard of the Hotel Casa Sur in Argentina on Wednesday afternoon.
Following the tragic news of his death, Argentine media published photographs purportedly showing the interior of the luxury suite the singer had checked into earlier this week.
After the images were shared, La Nación reported that police would be investigating who supplied Liam with banned substances if it is proven they were in his room.
Early this morning, authorities confirmed that two 911 calls were made from the Buenos Aires hotel and officers reported “a guest who is crazy on drugs and alcohol.”
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Wolverhampton-born Payne had allegedly been acting erratically and had to be escorted back to his hotel room before the horrific incident occurred.
One of Liam Payne’s last selfies in Buenos Aires was captioned: “Beautiful day in Argentina.”
(From left) Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Liam Payne in 2010
The hotel front desk employee stated on the first call: ‘We have a guest who is crazy on drugs and is destroying everything in his room. We need someone to come.
He then called again after the line went dead and said, “I don’t know if the guest’s life is in danger.” The room has a balcony and we are afraid that he might do something.’
The Familiar singer was said to have been “acting erratically in the hotel lobby and smashed his laptop” before he “had to be taken back to his room”.
Seconds later the employee, who identified himself as Esteban, added: ‘Just send an ambulance, just an ambulance.’
Workers heard a loud sound in the hotel courtyard before the singer’s body was discovered shortly after 5 p.m. local time.
Paramedics rushed to the scene where Payne was discovered with “very serious injuries” that left “no possibility of resuscitation.”
Police confirmed his death and officers reported: ‘Liam James Payne, composer and guitarist, former member of the band One Direction, died today after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Palermo.’
The singer’s body is believed to have been taken to a local morgue. The Foreign Office has also acknowledged that it is in contact with Argentine officials “regarding reports of the death of a British man” but declined to comment on his identity.
Shocked fans gathered outside the hotel after police cordoned it off and forensic investigators were seen coming and going in white protective suits and blue gloves.
They were seen lighting candles and decorating the roadside with flowers at an impromptu vigil as they paid tribute to the beloved music star.
A fire ambulance leaves the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires with Payne’s body
One Direction and Liam Payne fans gather outside the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires
One Direction and Liam Payne fans gather outside the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires
Police in Argentina had received a call from a hotel worker requesting urgent help for a drunk guest, according to audio related to the case obtained from the Buenos Aires Ministry of Security.
The worker said: “When he is conscious, he is destroying the entire room and we need you to send someone.”
The director of emergency medical services, Alberto Crescenti, said Payne had suffered “very serious injuries after falling from a third floor into an interior courtyard.”
“We verified his identity using the passport he had,” he added.
Crescenti told Argentine newspaper Clarín that “the team saw that he apparently had a fracture at the base of his skull.”
He said Payne had fallen about 45 feet (14 meters) and suffered “serious injuries that were incompatible with life.”
He said: ‘The alarm was raised at 5:04 pm local time saying that a person was lying in an internal courtyard of Casa Sur. At 5:11 p.m. an ambulance arrived and the man was pronounced dead.
‘Later we discovered that he had been a famous singer. Unfortunately, the injuries he had suffered as a result of the fall proved fatal. There was no possibility of resuscitating him.’
Liam Payne arrives for a film premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square in November 2010
Payne’s girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, posted a photo of the couple on her Instagram last August.
Former One Direction member Liam Payne is pictured in Paris in March this year.
Payne had arrived in Argentina earlier this month to attend his former bandmate Niall Horan’s concert.
The star’s latest Snapchat post showed him happily posing with partner Kate Cassidy as they looked in the mirror, a photo that was originally taken last August.
Payne had previously spoken out about his alcohol abuse: In July 2023, he revealed that he was six months sober after spending about 100 days in rehab.
“It was in bad condition up until that point,” he said in a YouTube video.
“I was watching this beautiful symphony, I was having a drink, and I thought, ‘You know what? This really doesn’t do me any good, I don’t really need it right now.” It’s the first time I’ve put down a drink and told someone else, “Finish this, I don’t need this right now.” And I haven’t bought one since So, it’s been almost six months now, which I’m excited about,” he added.
Payne rose to stardom aged 16 after forming boy band One Direction on The X Factor in 2010 alongside Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles.