One Direction's Liam Payne falls to death at Argentina hotel

Liam Payne appeared to have suffered a fracture at the base of his skull, according to police report. Photo: AP

British singer Liam Payne, a former member of the best-selling pop group One Direction, died Wednesday aged 31 after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, police said.

Minutes after the news broke, distraught fans and onlookers gathered near the scene in the Argentine capital, where medical teams were still at work.

"Liam James Payne, composer and guitarist, former member of the band One Direction, died today after falling from the third floor of a hotel," a police statement said.

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 neighborhood after a 911 call was made at 17.04pm local time (2004 GMT).

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 "about 13 or 14 meters" (about 43-46 feet).

Boyband 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.

In 2016, the group said it was on an indefinite hiatus, but not splitting up.

Payne announced he was working on a solo album that same year, following in the footsteps of other band members.

He had attended a concert by former band mate Horan in Buenos Aires on Oct 2, according to Billboard magazine.

"I'm in shock, I can't believe it. I live five blocks away and thought I had to be here," One Direction fan Martina Di Lalla, 23, told AFP outside the hotel. – AFP