One Direction star Liam Payne dies at age 31 in Argentina after fall from hotel balcony

Liam Payne, star of One Direction, died Wednesday, aged 31, after falling from the third floor of a hotel in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

According to local media reports, Payne died at the Casa Sur hotel after falling into the inner courtyard of the hotel at 6092 Costa Rica Street, in the renowned Palermo neighborhood.

The newspaper La Nación, one of the most influential newspapers in Argentina, reported that police officers from Police Station 14B went to the vicinity of the hotel after the manager (doorman) "called 911 alerting about an aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol."

The manager heard a loud noise in the hotel's backyard, the sound being the moment of impact of Payne's fall. The Emergency Medical Care System (SAME) verified the death of the singer, but details are still unknown. 

Alberto Crescenti, head of the SAME, said on national television that Payne suffered "very serious injuries incompatible with life."

"At 5:04 pm through 911, the integrated public safety system, we were alerted of a person who was in an internal courtyard of the Casa Sur hotel. At 5:11 pm a SAME team arrived and verified the death of the man. We later learned that he was a singer in a musical group. Unfortunately, he had injuries that were incompatible with life as a result of his fall, and so we had to confirm his death. There was no possibility of resuscitation," Crescenti told local news network TN.

While there are still no clear details about how the fall that caused Payne's death originated, about half an hour before the event the former One Direction singer posted several photos on the social network Snapchat with his girlfriend.

Crescenti, without giving further details about the case, said that it was necessary to wait for the results of the autopsy, but let it be known that, "according to what the team saw, apparently he had a skull base fracture, a very serious injury."

For the moment, the prosecutor and the jurisdiction of the area are working on the case, reported La Nación.

Likewise, the Buenos Aires City Police is also investigating the case, which is in the jurisdiction of prosecutor Andrés Esteban Madrea and secretary María Florencia Lavaggi.