Liam Payne's sister learned of his death from a phone alert

A fan writes a message as they gather to pay tribute to late British singer Liam Payne, former member of the British pop band One Direction in Treptower Park in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Oct 20, 2024. Photo: AP

The sister of One Direction singer Liam Payne learned of her brother’s fatal plunge from a hotel balcony last week from a news alert on her phone.

“When I saw the news pop up on my phone that you had left us I went cold, I wanted so much for this to be untrue,” Nicola Payne wrote on Instagram Monday (Oct 21).