Former One Direction star Liam Payne dies after fall from hotel

Former One Direction singer Liam Payne died after falling from a hotel floor in Argentina.

According to local officials, the 31-year-old singer fell from the hotel's third floor in the country's capital, Buenos Aires, on Wednesday.

Alberto Crescenti, head of the state emergency medical system, said on Argentina's Todo Noticias TV channel that Payne fell into a courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in the trendy Palermo neighborhood of Argentina's capital.

Crescenti declined to answer further questions about the incident, including whether Payne jumped from the balcony or fell by accident.

Argentine media reported that Payne was in Buenos Aires to attend the concert of his former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan.

According to TMZ , witnesses also told news outlets that the singer had been "acting erratic in the hotel lobby earlier" and that "he smashed his laptop, and had to be carried back to his room."

Payne had opened up about his mental health and addiction issues while at the height of 1D mania in 2021, according to FOX News. He also confessed that while isolating at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, he turned back to alcohol.

He told Steven Barlett on " The Diary of a CEO " podcast that many of his days were filled with "pills and booze" and he had "moments of suicidal ideation."

Payne was part of One Direction from 2010 to 2015 with other members Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and Zayn Malik. He was just 16 years old when the band formed.

One Direction formed in 2010 after five teenagers — Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Tomlinson and Malik — auditioned individually for the British TV talent show "The X Factor." Simon Cowell had the idea of putting them together as a boy band.

They didn't win the competition, but they went on to top charts and win young hearts around the world with their cheeky personalities and perky pop.