Police issue statement after One Direction star Liam Payne dies aged 31

Police in Argentina have issued a statement after it emerged that Liam Payne had died after falling from a hotel balcony.

Earlier this evening, reports surfaced that the One Direction star had died in Buenos Aires, having reportedly been staying at the hotel CasaSur in Palermo.

In a statement, police confirmed they had been dispatched to the hotel after an emergency call.

They said they had been 'informed of an aggressive man who may have been under the effects of drugs and alcohol'.

According to the BBC, when police arrived, the officer in charge reported hearing a large sound in the inner courtyard of the hotel.

Police have said Payne's body has been transported to a morgue.

Police and firefighters at Casa Sur hotel in Buenos Aires (Tobias Skarlovnik/Getty Images)

Alberto Crescenti, the head of the state emergency medical system, said on Argentina's Todo Noticias TV channel that the singer had fallen from his hotel room into a courtyard.

Crescenti said in a statement: "At 17.04 through the 911 integrated public safety system, we were alerted of a person who was in an internal courtyard of the management of a south house hotel.

"At 17.11 a SAME team arrived and verified the death of this man and later we found out that he was a singer in a musical group. Unfortunately, he had injuries that were incompatible with life, as a result of his fall, so we had to confirm his death, there was no possibility of resuscitation."

It's believed Payne had been in the Argentinian capital to attend the concert of former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan, having been seen dancing at his show two weeks ago at the Movistar Arena alongside his girlfriend Kate Cassidy.

Liam Payne in 2023 (PA)

After becoming one of the biggest pop groups in the world with five albums and four world tours, One Direction went on indefinite hiatus in 2016.

A year later, he and ex-girlfriend Cheryl Tweedy (formerly Cole) welcomed a son named Bear, before their relationship ended in 2018.

Payne, who was born in Wolverhampton, went on to release his debut solo album LP1 in December 2019 which included the singles 'Polaroid' and 'Familiar'.

In August last year, Payne was forced to postpone his scheduled tour of South America after suffering from a 'serious kidney infection'.

He said the infection was something he 'wouldn’t wish on anyone' and he had been instructed by doctors to 'rest and recover'.