Liam Payne, a former member of the group One Direction, died Wednesday in a fall from a hotel in Buenos Aires, police in Argentina say. Police say the 31-year-old British singer fell from the third floor of a hotel in the city's Palermo neighborhood, CNN reports. In a statement, police said officers went to the hotel after an emergency call about "an aggressive man who may have been under the effects of drugs and alcohol," the BBC reports. Officials said that after the officer in charge heard a loud sound from the hotel's courtyard, they found the body of a man who had "thrown himself from the balcony of his room."
Alberto Crescenti, head of the state emergency medical system, said authorities are investigating the death and conducting an autopsy, the AP reports. The boy band was formed in 2010 after Payne, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik appeared on the X Factor reality show in the UK, reports Variety. Payne launched a solo career after the band went on hiatus in 2015. "We're deeply saddened to learn of Liam Payne's tragic passing today," MTV said in a post on X. "During this difficult time, our hearts remain with his family, loved ones, and fans." This story has been updated with new developments. (More One Direction stories.)