The hotel manager told officers they were concerned about the well-being of a guest, the Associated Press reported.

Police were called to the hotel at 5.04pm local time (9.04pm UK) and Payne was pronounced dead at 5.11pm.

Local media in Argentina subsequently reported that drugs and paraphernalia had been found in Payne’s room, along with damage to furniture and a television.

Alberto Crescenti, spokesman for the city’s ambulance service, said: “Unfortunately, the injuries he sustained as a result of the fall proved to be fatal. There was no way to resuscitate him.”

Meanwhile, US gossip website TMZ was heavily criticized for publishing images showing Payne’s body after the fall. The photos have now been deleted.

His death will be devastating for the legions of fans of One Direction (many of whom, as seen below, gathered outside the hotel), who were for a time the biggest pop band in the world.

One Direction – often shortened to 1D – found success in 2010 on the television show The