Liam Payne: What we know so far about his death

Former One Direction star Liam Payne Died from a balcony at the age of 31 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday.

Many details about the British singer's death are still unclear, but information from emergency services and other authorities is beginning to paint a picture of events.

Payne was a global star and part of the much-loved boyband that appeared on The X Factor TV show in 2010.

His bandmates released a series of heartfelt statementsThey say they are “absolutely devastated” by his death.

Payne was staying at a hotel in Palermo, the capital of Argentina.

According to staff he stayed at the hotel for two or three days and was in the country visiting his former bandmate Niall Horan.

Horan was in Argentina on tour and the pair have remained friendly since One Direction's 2016 split.

Payne posted on Snapchat earlier this month that he visited Horan for a catch-up, saying: “It's been a while since me and Niall have spoken, we have a lot to talk about.”

He added: “No bad vibes or anything like that, but we need to talk.”

Payne attended the show, again posting social media videos of himself and girlfriend Kate Cassidy singing and dancing at the concert.

The BBC also spoke to fan Noelia Veron – who saw him in concert on 30 September and then again on 2 October.

“He was fine. Later people said he was either drunk or on drugs. But that's not the case at all. He used to talk to us, hug us and even joke,” she said.

When Veron saw her on Neill's show, he said she was “dancing, swaying and cheering” and “seemed to be enjoying herself”.

We also know that the pop star visited a friend's house in Argentina in the days before she died, again with Cassidy.

But when Payne died on Wednesday, Cassidy had already left the country.

Payne had been documenting many of his travels on Snapchat, including pictures of food, plans to play polo and jokes about his hair.

But none of his posts featured Kasasur's hotel, where he had been staying since days before his death.

We know that a call was made to emergency services by hotel staff at 17:00 local time (21:00 BST) on Wednesday, requesting that a hotel guest “who was high on drugs and alcohol” and “destroyed his room” be responded to. .

“I don't know if the guest's life is in danger. But he has a room with a balcony and we are a bit afraid that he might do something life-threatening,” the hotel's front desk manager said on a second call.

Penn's room was on the third floor and had a balcony about 14 meters (45 ft) above an interior courtyard.

He is believed to have fallen from the balcony at around 17:07 local time.

A few minutes later the police came. Hotel staff told them that a loud noise was heard in the courtyard, where Penn's body was found.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, with emergency services saying there was “no chance of resuscitation”.

Penn's body was removed from the hotel at approximately 20:30 local time and an autopsy was performed that evening.

It established that he suffered “multiple injuries” and “internal and external bleeding,” according to the public prosecutor's office.

An initial report said he had 25 injuries, “consistent with a fall from a great height”.

It added that he may have been completely or partially unconscious when he fell.

It has not yet been established whether Penn had alcohol or drugs in his system at the time of his death.

Authorities also interviewed five witnesses to help piece together Payne's final moments, including three hotel workers as well as two women who were with the singer but left the hotel before his death.

Investigators also want to establish the “possible involvement of a third party in the events preceding the victim's death.”

Hotel staff in the emergency call highlighted that Payne was “destroying his room”, and police said they found the room in “total disarray”.

A whiskey bottle, a lighter, a passport and a mobile phone were found.

The room was said to contain “various broken items” and medication was found, including the anxiety medication clonazepam and other over-the-counter medications.

Evidence and fingerprints were also collected to be analyzed in a lab.

Local media also released alleged photos from his room, showing a TV with a broken screen, multiple bottles, cans, candles, aluminum foil and a half-full glass of champagne.

The prosecutor's office said there were broken pieces of furniture and other items in the room that appeared to be “drugs and alcoholic beverages.”

Prosecutors are treating Penn's death as suspicious, meaning more needs to be established about what happened before her death and who she was in contact with.

A toxicology report has yet to be released and will determine if he consumed alcohol and used drugs before his death.

It may take a few days to return.

Police have also seized the star's laptop and phone, which could provide evidence and eyewitness reports that could help determine the cause of her death.

The force said on Friday that Payne's immediate family must travel to Argentina to identify his body before it is released.

Full coverage of Liam Payne's death: