On Thursday morning, the street outside the Casa Sur hotel in Buenos Aires was eerily quiet, following the tragic death of One Direction star Liam Payne. Guests peered out from behind drawn curtains while fans flocked to the site to pay their respects. Posters of a younger Payne adorned a nearby tree, alongside heartfelt messages and candles that dripped wax onto the pavement below.
One emotional tribute read, “Liam. I’m missing half of me. Thank you for all the sunshine, your smile, blazing every day.” Another stated, “Thank you for all the music. You will always be in my heart.”
Magalí Dalmau, a 25-year-old fan, arrived early to say her goodbyes. “I am in shock; I can’t believe it. I cried all night listening to their saddest songs, ‘Moments’ and ‘Spaces’. I had to delete social media because I couldn’t bear to keep reading the news. Today, I came to say farewell.”
Hotel guests reported hearing unsettling noises for hours before Payne’s fatal fall. Doug Jones, a tourist from Texas, was staying in the room opposite Payne’s and described the chaos he witnessed. “I thought they were doing construction; there was so much banging and doors slamming. Then, I heard the sirens and a very loud scream,” he recounted.
Payne, 31, tragically fell from a third-floor balcony into the hotel’s internal courtyard. First responders pronounced him dead at the scene, citing a “very serious injury” to the base of his skull, with no chance of resuscitation, according to Alberto Crescenti, head of Buenos Aires emergency services.
As news broke, fans gathered outside the hotel, remaining silent as forensic investigators and police arrived. Their quietude turned into applause and distress when Payne’s body was finally removed.
Jael Catalá, 21, observed the gathering from her balcony. “His fans stayed outside all night, past midnight, singing for him and lighting candles. I’m not a fan, but it was very emotional to witness how they felt.”
Lucía López, 23, expressed her disbelief at the tragedy. “It’s shocking. We were so happy he was in Argentina. I brought this poster of Liam, which I’ve had since 2012. It used to hang on my wall as a girl, and now I’m bringing it here.”
Berenice Desmond, also 23 and a member of Argentina’s One Direction fan club, noted that supporters planned to keep arriving throughout the day to build an altar with flowers, candles, and letters.
Payne was in Argentina to support his former bandmate, Niall Horan, who performed at the Movistar Arena on October 2. In the moments leading up to his death, hotel staff made calls to emergency services, alerting them that a guest had taken “too many drugs and alcohol,” raising concerns for his safety.
Reports emerged of a chaotic scene in Payne’s room, with images circulating in local news, sparking discussions about journalistic ethics.
Originally from Wolverhampton, England, Payne gained fame at just 16 as a member of One Direction, a boyband formed on the reality show The X Factor in 2010. The group became one of the biggest boybands in history, selling over 70 million records before going on hiatus in 2016.
Payne had previously spoken candidly about his struggles with mental health, revealing that he used alcohol and an epilepsy medication as a mood stabilizer during the height of the band’s fame.
His family released a heartfelt statement, saying, “We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts, and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny, and brave soul.”
