CNN
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More than an hour after sunset in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, a red van backed up to a side door of the four-star CasaSur Palermo hotel to remove the body of former One Direction band member Liam Payne from the premises.

Payne, 31, died earlier in the day after falling from the third floor of the hotel, according to a statement from Buenos Aires police. As fans gathered outside the hotel and staged a vigil for the popular musician, the circumstances of his death were still unclear.

Pablo Policicchio, communications director for Buenos Aires' security ministry, said in a statement to The Associated Press that Payne “jumped from the balcony of his room.” Police rushed to the hotel in response to an emergency call shortly after 5 p.m. local time, he said, warning of an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”

Because crowds of onlookers and members of the press had gathered on the street in front of the hotel, the fire truck was parked as close to the exit door as possible, apparently to prevent others from seeing the scene while emergency crews worked. After his death, Payne was granted privacy that was rarely afforded to him in life.

One Direction was famously put together by producer Simon Cowell after he saw Payne and four other talented young men – Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan – audition for the British version of The X-Factor. Individually they weren't good enough, Cowell thought.

Together, as it turned out, they were a sensation.

Nicknamed 1D by their fans, they became a global phenomenon as they became the first group to have their first four albums debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Nicknamed the Directioners, their huge fan base earned the pop group more than 50 million records sold before the members parted ways to pursue solo careers. They were known for songs like “What Makes You Beautiful,” “Best Song Ever,” and “Story of My Life.”

Payne has previously spoken about the mental burden of fame.

“I don't think I have problems in the sense that you would naturally imagine if I'm walking down the street and everyone is stopping me,” he told Esquire Middle East in 2019. “I mean, it happens sometimes, but it happens,” mostly mentally, where you struggle with it. It’s about getting ready and always knowing that you could be photographed.”

Malik was the first to leave the band in 2015. The others followed suit.

CNN has reached out to Payne's former bandmates and Cowell for comment. As of Thursday morning, no one had made a public statement.

In the hours following news of his death, fellow artists paid tribute to Payne, including Charlie Puth and Zedd.

“I’m in shock right now,” Puth wrote in his Instagram story. “Liam was always so nice to me. He was one of the first great artists I had the opportunity to work with. I can’t believe he’s gone.”

Payne had been sharing undated images from Argentina on his social media accounts in recent days. He was also seen at his former bandmate Horan's October 2 concert in Buenos Aires, according to videos posted on social media by the show.

Payne released his first solo album titled “LP1” in 2019. Last year he announced plans for a new album and tour, which were later postponed after Payne suffered a kidney infection.

In a video shared on YouTube in the summer of 2023, he opened up about previous struggles with substance abuse and spoke about being sober for six months.

“It’s good to be in this position,” he said at the time. “I definitely don’t need these things anymore. The party is over.”

Last spring, Payne released the song “Teardrops.”

“When I make music, I always think about images as much as I think about sounds,” Payne said in a video recording the song. “The feelings that these chords and different things make me feel, each of these songs is a story from my life.”