One Direction fans flocked from all over Buenos Aires to the site where former band member Liam Payne, 31, was found dead, having fallen from the third floor of the Casa Sur hotel, in the Palermo district of the Argentine capital. The police are on guard outside.
Many young people who rushed to the scene expressed shock and grief. “I didn’t think he would die so young,” Isabella Milesi, 21, told The Associated Press. “I’ve always loved One Direction since I was little. Seeing that he’s dead and that there will never be another reunion of the boys is incredible, it kills me,” commented 18-year-old Juana Relh. The images show dozens of people gathered on the cordoned off street outside the hotel, with many recording videos with their phones. A forensic investigator was on scene as he exited the building. Payne had spoken openly about battling alcoholism, posting a video in July 2023 on his YouTube channel in which he said he had been sober for six months after receiving treatment. The artist leaves behind a 7-year-old son, Bear Gray Payne, with his ex-girlfriend, musician Cheryl Cole.
