Liam Payne's father has arrived in Buenos Aires days after the pop star's fatal hotel sinking

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) – The father of former One Direction star Liam Payne arrived in Buenos Aires on Friday two days after his son's body was returned to England. Famous boy band the singer He died after falling from the hotel balcony.

After landing at Buenos Aires International Airport in the early hours of the morning, Geoff Payne was photographed emerging from a city hotel in a blue suit with British consular officials. Security officers whisked him away in a sleek van with tinted windows.

Payne went to the Buenos Aires morgue to identify her son's body before going to the local prosecutor's office. which is investigating the case As a matter of protocol, to arrange the repatriation of her son's remains, Argentine authorities said. He later stopped at the Casa Sur hotel where Paine had died to collect his son's belongings, where angry Argentines gathered on the third day to pay their respects.

A chain of young fans with linked arms maintained effective crowd control as Payne pressed flowers, photos and handwritten cards outside the hotel to pay tribute to her son. He paused at the makeshift memorial, thanking everyone and leaning in to take a picture of Liam before disappearing into the hotel.

“I feel sick to my stomach because I didn't get to say goodbye to him,” said Mara Dorf, a fan at the scene.

This is the first public appearance of Penn's family since the star's sudden death Grief and emotion set off a global stretch From major pop art figures and diehard One Direction fans. The shock hit particularly home, with his family saying in a statement hours after his death that they were “heartbroken.”

“Liam will live forever in our hearts and we will remember him for his kind, funny and brave spirit,” it said. “We are supporting each other as best we can as a family and asking for privacy and space during this terrible time.”

In media interviews over the years, Payne expressed gratitude and affection for his auto mechanic father and nurse mother, describing them as hardworking and supportive. Both parents made cameos in “One Direction: This Is Us,” a 2013 concert documentary about the popular boy band.

“When I see him on stage I'm absolutely bursting with pride, but we miss him so much,” Penn's mother, Karen, said at one point in the film.

The 31-year-old singer's final hours at the Casa Sur Hotel in Palermo, a trendy area of Buenos Aires, be vague Argentine prosecutors say he appears to have overdosed on drugs and alcohol. The prosecution cited investigators who found what appeared to be narcotics and alcohol scattered on broken items and furniture in Penn's hotel room.

It is still unclear whether Payne jumped intentionally or accidentally fell from the third floor. An autopsy performed hours after her death showed she died from drowning, which caused “extreme trauma” and “internal and external bleeding” to the skull, chest and abdomen and organs. Toxicology report results are pending.

Investigators said there were no signs anyone else was involved in his death, citing a lack of defensive wounds on Penn's body that indicated he did not try to protect himself from the fall. The prosecutor's report said Payne may have been semi-conscious or unconscious.

In a media frenzy over the case, gossip and celebrity news site TMZ drew particular backlash for publishing a cropped photo showing Payne's body, with her identifying tattoo, sprawled on a wooden deck after her fall.

The site later criticized the film. But the fallout continued Friday when the Girls Aloud singer Cheryl — Penn's ex-girlfriend and His son's motherBear — posted a powerful statement on Instagram in response.

“What hurts my soul the most is that one day Bear will have access to the vile reporting and media exploitation we've seen over the past two days,” he wrote. “Please let what little dignity Liam has left in the wake of his death finally rest in some peace.”