Zürcher Nachrichten - What we know about One Direction star Liam Payne's death

EUR -
AED 3.829665
AFN 73.124937
ALL 98.671597
AMD 412.950691
ANG 1.876092
AOA 950.893358
ARS 1066.519947
AUD 1.66985
AWG 1.876763
AZN 1.768751
BAM 1.958611
BBD 2.101816
BDT 124.398516
BGN 1.961207
BHD 0.392199
BIF 3078.217348
BMD 1.042646
BND 1.41453
BOB 7.193323
BRL 6.648748
BSD 1.040994
BTN 88.610159
BWP 14.457747
BYN 3.406689
BYR 20435.86617
BZD 2.094706
CAD 1.495833
CDF 2992.39459
CHF 0.923263
CLF 0.037382
CLP 1031.479634
CNY 7.609756
CNH 7.617798
COP 4580.720255
CRC 528.5585
CUC 1.042646
CUP 27.630125
CVE 110.423461
CZK 25.213254
DJF 185.376021
DKK 7.479841
DOP 63.410997
DZD 140.599492
EGP 52.925809
ERN 15.639693
ETB 132.543204
FJD 2.417532
FKP 0.825757
GBP 0.831489
GEL 2.929895
GGP 0.825757
GHS 15.301959
GIP 0.825757
GMD 75.070472
GNF 8996.910876
GTQ 8.018507
GYD 217.79254
HKD 8.098958
HNL 26.448955
HRK 7.478803
HTG 136.11533
HUF 412.012008
IDR 16871.162963
ILS 3.805904
IMP 0.825757
INR 89.0337
IQD 1363.656894
IRR 43882.378225
ISK 145.500924
JEP 0.825757
JMD 162.192752
JOD 0.739547
JPY 164.035366
KES 134.543357
KGS 90.709698
KHR 4184.00419
KMF 486.003444
KPW 938.381027
KRW 1518.620823
KWD 0.321323
KYD 0.867545
KZT 539.283891
LAK 22765.669517
LBP 93219.873719
LKR 306.800269
LRD 189.461884
LSL 19.356377
LTL 3.078663
LVL 0.630686
LYD 5.110334
MAD 10.497765
MDL 19.206562
MGA 4910.046085
MKD 61.524778
MMK 3386.474294
MNT 3542.911765
MOP 8.327751
MRU 41.555634
MUR 49.07729
MVR 16.078621
MWK 1805.090367
MXN 21.047639
MYR 4.678398
MZN 66.628983
NAD 19.356377
NGN 1606.884965
NIO 38.304969
NOK 11.839112
NPR 141.776454
NZD 1.846977
OMR 0.400329
PAB 1.040994
PEN 3.876363
PGK 4.225063
PHP 61.161284
PKR 289.809186
PLN 4.272871
PYG 8118.650542
QAR 3.786033
RON 4.988333
RSD 116.996577
RUB 103.976124
RWF 1452.183934
SAR 3.914406
SBD 8.741082
SCR 14.865032
SDG 627.148703
SEK 11.552916
SGD 1.408193
SHP 0.825757
SLE 23.765491
SLL 21863.773344
SOS 594.953779
SRD 36.553098
STD 21580.671932
SVC 9.109072
SYP 2619.680194
SZL 19.364789
THB 35.543468
TJS 11.388343
TMT 3.659688
TND 3.319263
TOP 2.441978
TRY 36.689814
TTD 7.074152
TWD 34.098599
TZS 2523.812801
UAH 43.648437
UGX 3810.468153
USD 1.042646
UYU 46.336494
UZS 13439.285837
VES 53.775059
VND 26514.493709
VUV 123.785049
WST 2.88061
XAF 656.899674
XAG 0.035236
XAU 0.000398
XCD 2.817804
XDR 0.798145
XOF 656.899674
XPF 119.331742
YER 261.052517
ZAR 19.454142
ZMK 9385.066686
ZMW 28.809342
ZWL 335.731662
  • SCS

    0.0800

    11.73

    +0.68%

  • NGG

    -0.1600

    58.86

    -0.27%

  • GSK

    -0.0300

    34.03

    -0.09%

  • RIO

    -0.0300

    59.2

    -0.05%

  • BTI

    0.0400

    36.26

    +0.11%

  • BP

    0.0400

    28.79

    +0.14%

  • AZN

    -0.3300

    66.3

    -0.5%

  • RBGPF

    59.8000

    59.8

    +100%

  • CMSC

    -0.1321

    23.77

    -0.56%

  • CMSD

    0.1000

    23.65

    +0.42%

  • BCE

    0.0600

    22.9

    +0.26%

  • VOD

    0.0600

    8.43

    +0.71%

  • RELX

    0.3000

    45.89

    +0.65%

  • BCC

    0.9500

    123.19

    +0.77%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    7.24

    -0.14%

  • JRI

    0.0500

    12.15

    +0.41%

What we know about One Direction star Liam Payne's death
What we know about One Direction star Liam Payne's death / Photo: Luis ROBAYO - AFP

What we know about One Direction star Liam Payne's death

Liam Payne, a British singer and former member of boy band One Direction, died after falling from a third-floor balcony at a Buenos Aires hotel.

Text size:

The circumstances of the pop star's death, however, remain unclear.

Here is what we know so far:

- Multiple trauma, hemorrhaging -

Almost three hours after his death on Wednesday, Payne's body was removed from the hotel at around 8:30 pm (23:30 GMT) and autopsied.

The autopsy established that Payne suffered "multiple traumas" and "internal and external hemorrhaging," the public prosecutor's office said in a statement.

A preliminary report noted "25 injuries consistent with a fall from a great height."

First responders said there was "no possibility of resuscitation" at the scene, according to the head of emergency services in Buenos Aires.

- Drugs, alcohol -

Hotel staff had called emergency services to respond to a hotel guest shortly after 5:00 pm, according to leaked audio of the call run by several media outlets.

"We have a guest who is overwhelmed by drugs and alcohol, and destroying his room, we need you to send someone!" a voice identified as a hotel employee said on the call.

"I don't know if the guest's life is in danger. But he has a room with a balcony and we're a little afraid that he might do something life-threatening," said an employee who identified himself as the hotel's front desk manager in a second call.

Payne was in a room on the third floor, with a balcony overlooking a rear patio that was about 14 meters (45 feet) high.

He had been in Argentina for several days, after attending a concert by former bandmate Niall Horan in Buenos Aires in early October.

- Wrecked room -

Local media published photographs purportedly of Payne's room, showing a chaotic scene.

A TV with a broken screen, multiple bottles, cans with burn marks, candles and traces of white powder on a table are visible. There was also a half-full glass of champagne.

The public prosecutor's office corroborated the depiction of drugs and alcohol, saying "substances were seized in the musician's room which would accredit a previous situation of alcohol and drug consumption."

A telephone, a computer and the musician's papers were seized, as well as, according to local media, drugs such as the anti-anxiety medication Clonazepam.

The results of medical and toxicological tests on Payne's body were not immediately available.

Payne had in the past spoken of his difficult relationship with fame and his problems with alcoholism.

- Was it an accident? -

The courts said they were officially investigating the death but did not suggest foul play was suspected.

"Everything seems to indicate that the musician was alone at the time of the fall and that he was going through an episode of substance abuse," authorities said.

The prosecutor's office has taken statements from at least five witnesses, including three hotel employees and two women who had earlier been in Payne's room.

L.Zimmermann--NZN