Liam Payne’s family have released a statement following his unexpected death on Wednesday at the age of 31. The former One Direction member reportedly fell from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

“We are devastated. Liam will live on forever in our hearts and we will remember him for his kind, funny and courageous soul,” the family said in a statement to PA Media, the British and Irish national news agency. “We support each other as a family as best we can and ask for privacy and space during this terrible time.”

At the same time, the 911 call from the staff of the CasaSur Palermo hotel has been released, detailing the events before Payne’s tragic death. According to a transcript translated from Spanish by the BBC, a hotel employee told emergency responders that there was a “guest who was high on drugs and trashed the room, so we need someone to come over.”

Then the line was disconnected and the hotel employee called again. Once the conversation was established, the staffer continued, “We need someone urgently because I don’t know if his life is in danger, the guest’s. He’s in a room with a balcony and well, we’re a bit worried that he might…’

The employee also informed the 911 operator that staff members did not have access to Payne’s room, hence the need for police assistance. The 911 operator then sent police to the hotel.

Although it was initially reported that Payne had fallen three floors from the hotel, Pablo Policicchio, the communications director of the Buenos Aires Ministry of Security, later said in a statement that Payne had “jumped from the balcony of his room.”

Payne was discovered on ‘The X Factor’ in 2010 alongside his One Direction bandmates Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan. The five musicians auditioned solo for the show, but were put together to form a band, ultimately finishing in third place in the competition. Afterwards, One Direction was signed to “X Factor” judge Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment. The band went on to become one of the best-selling boy bands in history, selling 70 million records worldwide before announcing an indefinite hiatus in 2016.

Following One Direction’s hiatus, Payne signed a solo recording contract with Capitol Records UK and began releasing music in 2017, starting with the single “Strip That Down” featuring Migos rapper Quavo. His debut solo album ‘LP1’ debuted in December 2019 and in March he released a new single ‘Teardrops’, with a second album on the way.

Payne has been open about his struggles with drinking and suicidal thoughts, and last year he stated that he had been sober for more than three months. “I’m sober now, over 100 days,” he told IFL TV. “I feel great, I feel really good and the support from the fans has been really good, so I’m super happy.”