BUENOS AIRES - British singer Liam Payne, a member of the best-selling boy band One Direction, died on Wednesday aged 31 after plunging from the third floor of Buenos Aires hotel, police and emergency responders said.
It was not immediately clear if the fall was accidental or whether Payne, who has spoken publicly of struggles with alcohol abuse, may have been intoxicated.
Minutes after the news of his death broke, distraught fans -- most in their 20s and 30s -- and onlookers gathered near the scene in the Argentine capital, where medical teams were at work.
A police statement announced that "Liam James Payne, composer and guitarist, former member of the band One Direction, died today after falling from the third floor of a hotel."
The singer had suffered "very serious injuries incompatible with life as a result of his fall," the head of the city's SAME emergency medical service, Alberto Crescenti, told local television, adding "there was no possibility of resuscitation."
Crescenti said emergency personnel rushed to the Casa Sur hotel in the city's Palermo neighbourhood after an emergency call was made at 5:04pm local time.
They arrived seven minutes later and "verified the death of this man, who we later learnt was a singer."
Payne appeared to have suffered a fracture at the base of his skull from the fall Crescenti said was from "about 13 or 14 metres".
The police statement said the call had been made to report "an aggressive man who may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol."
Argentine press reported on what they said was the emergency call from a hotel manager reporting a guest "on drugs and destroying the room."
The manager told the operator the guest "has a balcony, and we are afraid they might do something to put their life at risk."
The Buenos Aires security ministry in a statement said that when officers arrived, the hotel manager reported "the death of a man who had jumped from the balcony of his room."
A body was removed from the hotel around 8:30pm local time by a firetruck, as fans cried and applauded solemnly.
British-Irish pop sensation One Direction emerged in 2010 when then-teenagers Payne, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik appeared on British television contest "The X Factor."