World stunned by Liam's death

Tributes pour in after former One Direction singer Liam Payne fell to his death at a Buenos Aires hotel

- Shelley Spadoni

He was a much-loved member of one of the biggest boy bands on the planet, so when the news began to circulate that One Direction star Liam Payne had died, aged just 31, after a fatal fall at a hotel in Buenos Aires, both the showbiz world and millions of devastated fans around the globe were left reeling in shock.

Liam had been on holiday in the Argentinian capital with his girlfriend, influencer Kate Cassidy, but she'd left the country three days earlier. Liam is thought to have fallen from the third floor of the hotel Casa Sur Palermo on Wednesday 16 October. Since then, fans have been gathering outside the hotel to mourn him, lighting candles and singing One Direction songs.

It was later reported that the Wolverhampton-born singerwho shot to fame with Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan in 2011 after Simon Cowell grouped them together to form a band on The X Factor had been acting "erratically" in the hours leading up to his death.

A hotel employee reported "an aggressive man who may have been under the effects of drugs and alcohol". Audio obtained revealed them asking for help with the intoxicated guest. They can be heard saying, "When he is conscious he is destroying the entire room and we need you to send someone."

According to local media reports, Liam had been seen "acting erratically in the hotel lobby and smashed his laptop" before he "had to be carried back to his room".

Shortly after the hotel worker's disturbing 911 call, staff said they heard a loud sound in the hotel's inner courtyard - where Liam's body was discovered, shortly after 5pm.