Liam Payne cause of death: Singer ‘jumped from balcony’: report

Liam Payne's cause of death has been revealed less than 24 hours after the One Direction alum's fatal fall from the balcony of a Buenos Aires hotel , which local authorities say was a jump.

A medical-legal autopsy conducted early Thursday showed that the 31-year-old pop star suffered polytrauma resulting in both internal and external bleeding, according to Argentine newspaper La Nación.

Payne sustained "a cranial fracture and extremely serious injuries that led to his immediate death," Alberto Crescenti, head of the Emergency Medical Care System (SAME), told the outlet.

Further details, including whether Payne had substances in his system, are pending a complete autopsy. The cause of the three-story fall from the balcony of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel, where he'd been staying for multiple days, is also under investigation.

Payne "jumped from the balcony of his room," Buenos Aires Security Ministry communications director Pablo Policicchio said in a statement to The Associated Press and People later Thursday morning.

In a call to emergency services just after 5 p.m. local time, minutes before Payne's fatal plunge, a man who identified himself as the hotel's chief receptionist reported that a guest was "high on drugs" and "trashing the room."

Upon being asked if the guest was being aggressive, the line was cut off, before the receptionist called back and said the guest had "had too many drugs and alcohol and, well, when he is conscious he is trashing the entire room." The receptionist asked authorities to "urgently" send someone and said he was unsure "whether his life may be in danger," referencing the balcony in the room.

At the time of his death, Payne had reportedly been in the South American country for more than two weeks. Payne and girlfriend Kate Cassidy, who returned to the U.S. earlier this week, reportedly supported former bandmate Niall Horan at his Buenos Aires show on Oct. 2.

Payne and Horan previously were members of British boy band sensation One Direction along with Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik. Both Styles' mother and Horan's older brother are among those who have paid tribute to Payne.

It's unclear how Payne's remains will be transferred to his native U.K., though the British Embassy in Argentina told La Nación it is "supporting Payne's family and ... are in contact with the local authorities."