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TRAGIC DEATH
Liam Payne’s tragic cause of death released as medic describes injuries that were ‘incompatible with life’ after fall
Crowds of fans have been gathering outside the hotel to pay their tributes to the late star
TRAGIC Liam Payne died instantly from multiple injuries including a fractured skull caused by his fall from a third floor hotel balcony.
Buenos Aires emergency services chief Alberto Crescenti said medical teams were unable to save the former One Direction heart-throb when they reached the scene.
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Crescenti said: “Our role was to head there quickly, give medical attention, and try to resuscitate him, but his injuries were incompatible with life.
“Based on what the team saw, there was apparently a cranial fracture and extremely serious injuries that led to his immediate death.”
Emergency services confirmed the 31-year-old pop star’s identity by checking his passport.
Crescenti said Liam had fallen into the hotel’s internal patio but declined to comment on reports he may have been drunk or on drugs.
Read more on Liam Payne
He stressed officials were still awaiting autopsy findings and urged anyone rushing to judgement “to not get ahead of ourselves.”
Hotel staff told police that Liam had checked in alone at the swish Casa Sur Hotel in the Argentinian capital’s trendy Palermo suburb on October 10.
He was understood to be in the city to meet former 1D bandmate Niall Horan who performed at the Movistar Arena.
Liam’s body was removed from the hotel at 8.38 pm local time, more than three hours after his tragic fall.
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Pathologists are expected to carry out a post-mortem later today in Buenos Aires to try to start answering questions surrounding the singer's tragic death.
It comes as:
- One Direction fans held candlelit vigils outside the hotel
- The singer posted on Snapchat just minutes before his death
- Rylan Clark and Dermot O'Leary paid tribute to the singer
- His ex-fiancée Maya Henry broke her silence after his death
- Liam's girlfriend Kate Cassidy's message before he died
- Harry Styles' mum pays heartbreaking tribute to the star
Liam's body was taken last night to a city morgue in Viamonte Street, just a 15-minute drive south-west of the boutique hotel.
Pathologists will test for evidence of drink and drug consumption prior to yesterday’s tragedy at the Casa Sur Palermo.
Officials have not said how long the results of the tests will take to come back, but local media are pointing to the wait being 10 to 15 days.
Photos published by several Argentinian newspapers overnight claimed to be of inside Liam’s deluxe suite room show the burnt top of what appeared to be a fizzy drinks can, traces of a white powder and pieces of aluminium foil on a desktop.
Heartbreaking videos show Liam Payne chatting to fans and comparing tattoos outside hotel days before tragic death at 31
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A scrunched-up burnt piece of aluminium foil was also pictured in the bathroom.
The screen of a TV in the room had been smashed.
The prosecutor tasked with investigating Liam’s death has been named as Andres Esteban Madrea.
If it is confirmed narcotics were discovered in the singer’s hotel room and could have played a contributory factor in his death, police are expected to try to establish who supplied him with the drugs ahead of a probable prosecution.
It comes as the chilling 911 call made by a frantic hotel manager requesting "urgent" assistance before Liam's death has been revealed.
Argentinian police said they were called to the hotel on Wednesday after staff reported an "aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol".
The head of reception made two calls, telling a 911 operator in the first: "We have a guest who is destroying everything in his room. We need someone to come."
He phoned back after the line went dead, repeating his request and claiming: "We need you to send someone urgently because I don’t know if the guest’s life is in danger.
Hotel manager's call to 911
911 operator: "What is happening sir?"
Hotel manager: "We have a guest drunk with drugs and alcohol. When he [them, gender not clear in conversation] is conscious, he is breaking everything in the room."
911 operator: "You said alcohol and drugs…"
Hotel manager: "This is correct."
911 operator: "You said Costa Rica intersecting where?"
Hotel manager: "Costa Rica 6032."
911 operator: "Repeat."
Hotel manager: "Costa Rica 6032."
911 operator: "What is the hotel called?"
Hotel manager: "Caza Sur Palermo. We need to send someone with urgency because I don't know if the guest's life is in danger because he is in a room with balcony, and we are afraid he could do something that threatens life."
911 operator: "How long has he been there? Is it a long-stay hotel?"
Hotel manager: "(The guest) has been for the past three days."
911 operator: "You don't any other information because you can't get in. Right?"
Hotel manager: "No."
911 operator: "We are also notifying SAME (Medical Emergency Attention Service)."
Hotel manager: "We are asking to send someone with urgency because…"
911 operator: "We are doing that. Any other data to give me. Who are you?"
Hotel manager: "I'm the desk manager."
911 operator: "Person in charge of the place."
Hotel manager - "Yes."
911 operator: "It has been notified. What is your name, sir?"
Hotel manager: "Esteban."
911 operator: "Thanks for calling. Be online."
Hotel manager: "Are you sending police too."
911 operator: "Police from the delegation… Let me confirm.";
Hotel manager: "No, no, only SAME, only SAME (Medical Emergency Attention Service)."
911 operator: "Don't worry because they have already been notified."
Hotel manager: "Because as you said he is under the influence of alcohol and drugs, SAME personnel can't enter alone."
911 operator: "You can ask that to the police, but if SAME needs them, they will notify you."
Hotel manager: "Good, OK, perfect."
911 operator: "Have a good day."
Hotel manager: "Thanks, you too."
"They must be in a room that has a balcony. And well, we’re a little bit worried he’ll do something, that he’ll put his life at risk."
Liam had shared a post on Snapchat only minutes before his death showing himself with girlfriend Kate Cassidy looking into a mirror.
Tributes have poured in for the singer with celebrities and fans alike sharing their heartbreak.
Harry Styles' mum shared a heartbreaking tribute on Instagram writing in the caption: "Just a boy…".
And Liam's ex-fiancée Maya Henry was " in shock" in the wake of the tragic news.
Just two days before Liam's tragic fall, Maya made comments on a podcast claiming the star "predicted his early death."
Liam had posted earlier in the day talking about riding horses, playing polo, and looking forward to returning home to see his dog.
Comment: Howell Davies on Liam Payne
by Howell Davies, Associate Bizarre Editor
LIAM was warm, a little bit goofy and the dad - figuratively, not literally - in One Direction, who always kept everyone in check and gave the people what they wanted.
He was the spokesperson of the group, speaking up while the others fooled around or shrunk into the background.
I interviewed him lots of times over the years, first of all back in December 2014 when I was a fledgling reporter and he was still one fifth of the world’s most famous boyband.
On that night at the BBC Music Awards in West London, they squeezed onto a sofa and Liam spoke animatedly while his bandmate Zayn Malik barely said a word.
He was friendly and the most professional of the group because he knew his role was to hold things together.
You could tell he was eager to please, even then.
But I would hear whispers from behind the scenes that all was not well.
He was abusing alcohol and his love life was a rollercoaster.
Things came to a head in the final year of One Direction and those working around him made it clear that it was a relief he would finally have some time off to be a normal guy in his early twenties - after years spent pin-balling across the glove in a haze of screams from fans.
It was shocking to me that at 22 he had been in the industry for years and years, while I, just a year older, was only just starting my career.
I still felt like a kid, but he was one of the most talked-about people in the world.
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Scores of anxious fans have since gathered at the scene and many were in tears as they lit candles and placed mementos and flowers on a shrine at the hotel.
Several weeping fans later began singing the One Direction Ballad, “If I Could Fly” with the line: “If I could fly, I’d be coming right back home to you.”
Heartbreaking hand-written messages, written in Spanish but also in English, have been fixed to a tree outside the Hotel CasaSur Palermo.
At the base of the tree fans have left candles and flowers.
A bouquet of white carnations was decorated with a heart-shaped ornament which said: “Te Amo" - ‘I Love You’ in Spanish.
A handwritten note on a tiny piece of ripped paper pinned to the tree by the flowers said in Spanish: “Thank you for so much Liam. I love you.”
Another above it, also in Spanish, said: “Dear Liam. Many thanks for accompanying us over so many years and helping us in our best and worst moments. We will never forget you.”
The touching message was signed "Milena, Felipe and Dima”.
Another said: “Whoever you are Liam you will always have a piece of my heart with you.
“Fly high. Thanks for so much.”
Below it someone had written on a smaller piece of paper: “Liam you saved my life. You will always be in our hearts. Fly high, our angel.”
Another fan called Mica wrote in her message, which she finished with a heart drawing; “I never thought things would end like this for you.
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“I love you and will always love you.
“You were part of my childhood and adolescence and you helped me in my most difficult moments together with the other boys in the band.”
Tributes to Liam Payne
SHOCKED fans have started to flood Liam Payne's last Instagram post with sad tributes as news of the singer's death emerges.
Broadcaster Rylan Clark said RIP Liam: "Extremely sad news. V tragic and so young."
Charlie Puth, who was friends with Liam and also collaborated with him on a song called Bedroom Floor, has posted a series of Instagram stories dedicated to him.
Alongside photos of the two of them together in their younger days, Charlie wrote: "I am in shock right now. Liam was always so kind to me.
"He was one of the first major artists I got to work with. I can not believe he is gone...
"I am so upset right now, may he rest in peace. I am so sorry..."
German DJ Anton Zaslavski, otherwise known as Zedd, has taken to X with a devastated statement.
The producer, who worked with Liam on his 2017 hit Get Low, wrote: "RIP Liam… I can’t believe this is real…absolutely heartbreaking…"
Irish singer duo Jedward also took to social media, saying: "RIP Liam Payne. Condolences to friends and family."
In another tweet, they added: "Sending strength to Cheryl and his son Bear. And all the One direction Family. RIP Liam Payne."
American media personality Paris Hilton shared: "So upsetting to hear the news of Liam Payne passing. Sending love and condolences to his family & loved ones. RIP my friend."
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