Liam Payne’s body sent for autopsy as authorities try to determine what led to fatal hotel fall: Live updates

Former One Direction star Liam Payne has died at the age of 31 after falling from a hotel balcony in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Pablo Policicchio, the communications director for the Buenos Aires Security Ministry, told the Associated Press the singer “had jumped from the balcony of his room” on Wednesday evening.

Now, authorities say they will conduct an autopsy and investigate the circumstances surrounding his death.

Born on August 29, 1993, in Wolverhampton, England, Payne rose to fame while competing on season five of The X Factor in 2008 in front of judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh.

After the audition stages, Cowell grouped Payne with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik. One Direction went on to become one of the best-selling boy bands of all time before going on an indefinite hiatus in 2016.

Payne had a son, born in 2017, with former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole.

Tributes from across the music industry have quickly poured in for Payne. While none of his former One Direction members have spoken out yet, Styles’s mother posted a broken heart emoji on Instagram with the caption, “Just a boy.”