A hotel manager feared for Liam Payne’s life during a harrowing emergency call moments before the singer fell to his death in Buenos Aires on Wednesday.
In a newly released audio obtained by Argentinian outlet La Nacion, the employee who identified himself as Esteban told an emergency operator that his first call had gotten disconnected but was calling from “the CasaSur hotel in Palermo, Costa Rica 6032.”
“We have a guest who is [allegedly] high and drunk; and when he is conscious, he is destroying his room and we need you to send someone, please. We need you to send someone urgently because I don’t know if his life is in danger,” he begged in the audio translated from Spanish.
“He is in a room that has a balcony and we are scared he might be endangering his life.”
The manager then confirmed that Payne had only been a guest at the hotel for “two or three days.”
As the operator asked further questions, the manager asked if the police would also come. However, the manager then hesitated before asking for only the “SAME,” which is Argentina’s system for medical emergencies, to come.
It can be understood that it was at that moment that employees heard a noise and discovered Payne’s body in the courtyard.
On Wednesday, news broke that the former One Direction band member had died after he fell from his third-floor hotel room balcony. He was 31.
Although an autopsy report has yet to be released, Buenos Aires police said in a statement the singer’s fall resulted in “extremely serious injuries” with medics confirming his death on the spot.
Alberto Crescenti, head of the state emergency medical system, explained on Argentina’s Todo Noticias TV channel that Payne fell 13 or 14 meters and “suffered severe injuries that provoked his immediate death.”
“We arrived in time to try and revive him, but there was nothing we could do,” Crescenti added.
TMZ reported the fall happened shortly after 5 p.m. local time, and eyewitnesses had seen the pop star acting erratically in the lobby moments before. He had reportedly smashed his laptop before being carried back to his room.
Two weeks before his death, the father of one had traveled to Argentina with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy. The couple had even attended Payne’s former bandmate Niall Horan’s Oct. 2 concert in an attempt to reconcile.
“I think we might just go and say hello,” Payne said in a Snapchat video, “It’s been a while since me and Niall have spoken. We’ve got a lot to talk about. And I would like to square up a couple things with the boy.”
Payne clarified there were “no bad vibes or anything like that” and he just needed to “talk” to Horan.
Despite putting on a happy demeanor on social media during his trip to Argentina, sources told Page Six that “Liam had been cycling through periods of ruinous behavior for a long time.”
“He was open about his struggles but tried to downplay them at times. His demons were much worse than he let on.”
The English pop star — who shared 7-year-old son Bear with ex Cheryl Cole — admitted on a podcast in 2021 that he hit “rock bottom” and experienced “suicidal ideation” during his time in the chart-topping boy band.
One Direction — which also included Harry Styles, Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik — broke up in 2016.
In 2023, Payne announced he had gone to rehab and was more than 100 days sober.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
