Former One Direction star Liam Payne has died in Argentina aged 31 after falling from the third floor of a Buenos Aires hotel, police say.

In a statement, police said they discovered Payne’s body after an emergency crew responded to a call in the upmarket Palermo neighborhood on Wednesday.

On Thursday, police in Buenos Aires said a preliminary autopsy indicated Liam Payne died of external and internal bleeding.

Police inspected the area where Payne fell and found alcohol and a phone, among other things. Medication was found in his room.

Payne had risen to fame worldwide as part of the much-loved boy band formed on the X Factor TV show in 2010, alongside Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik.

According to police in Buenos Aires, officers on the scene initially responded to reports “of an aggressive male who was possibly under the influence of drugs and alcohol.”

When they arrived at the hotel, officials were told that a loud noise had been heard in a courtyard. Shortly afterwards they discovered the body there. A police investigation was subsequently launched.

Emergency Medical Services Director Alberto Crescenti told local media that Payne was “severely injured” and that an autopsy would be performed.

Mr Crescenti declined to answer questions about the circumstances of Payne’s fall from the balcony.

The star’s body has been shifted to a mortuary in the city.

Police in Buenos Aires confirmed on Thursday that an inspection had been carried out at the site where Payne fell on the ground floor of the hotel.

They said a bottle of whisky, a lighter and a mobile phone were found.

Police said that “all indications are that the musician was alone when the fall occurred”, and that he was pronounced dead at the scene and that there were no injuries to indicate a third party was involved.

In the hotel room where Payne was staying, staff found “total disarray,” including “several items broken.”

They said this contained several packets of medicine including Clonazepamas well as over-the-counter medications.

A notebook and a passport were also found at the scene.

Evidence and fingerprints were collected and the balcony of the room was also inspected to determine access to it.

Police took five witness statements that night, three from hotel employees and two from women who had previously been in Payne’s room but were not there at the time of the fall.

Payne posted on Snapchat just hours before the incident, saying: “It’s a beautiful day here in Argentina,” but the video was from earlier in the week where he had spent time with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy.

The British Foreign Office confirmed it had been in contact with authorities in Argentina “over reports of the death of a British man”. No further details were given.

Once news of his death broke, fans began gathering outside the Buenos Aires hotel where the death occurred, prompting police to cordon off the entrance. Some lit candles in his memory.

“I was in my living room and my sister told me that Liam had died,” a young fan named Violeta Antier told Reuters. ‘We couldn’t believe it. We came straight here to confirm it was true.”

Ms Antier said she saw Payne at the Niall Horan concert two weeks ago.

Another woman cried as she explained why she had come to the hotel, telling Reuters in Spanish: “This is the only way I can say goodbye to him.”

One Direction enjoyed worldwide success with hits such as What Makes You Beautiful and Story of My Life, while Payne also enjoyed some solo success after the band announced in 2015 that they would be going on hiatus the following year.

In August this year, Payne was announced as a judge for a new Netflix talent show alongside former Destiny’s Child singer Kelly Rowland and The Pussycat Dolls star Nicole Scherzinger.

Born in Wolverhampton in Britain, Payne first tried his hand at fame when he auditioned for ITV talent show The X Factor in 2008, but judge Simon Cowell told him to “come back in two years”.

He did just that, further impressing the judges in 2010, and he was put on the bootcamp stage along with four other solo contestants and One Direction was born.

The group had four UK number one albums and four number one singles and topped the charts around the world, before Zayn Malik left in 2015, leading to the band’s hiatus.

In 2017, Payne’s debut solo single Strip That Down, which peaked at number three on the Official UK Chart, and his collaboration with Rita Ora on the song For You – from the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack – also reached the top 10.

He started a relationship with Girls Aloud star Cheryl Tweedy in 2016 and they had a son, Bear, the following year. The couple separated in 2018.

The BBC spotted a cease and desist letter against the singer earlier this week from another of Payne’s former partners, Maya Henry.

It “relates to alleged egregious conduct.”

She had posted on social media accusing him of contacting her repeatedly. Payne did not respond to the allegations.