Liam Payne ransacked and ransacked the hotel room minutes before he fell from the balcony. That’s what the hotel employee who called 911 said.
Drugs and broken items were found in his room.
Coverage and photos of the room at the Casa Sur Hotel located in <a href="https://time.news/more-controversy-a-rival-minimized-the-blow-to-ocampos-he-comes-from-playing-in-argentina-and-things-will-surely-be-worse-there/" title="More controversy. A rival minimized the blow to Ocampos: “He comes from playing in Argentina, and things will surely be worse there””>Palermo, where Liam Payne, former member of the youth band One Direction, died.
He had been in Argentina since the beginning of October accompanying his former bandmate Niall Horan. #LiamPayne #1D pic.twitter.com/0Am5LtYtfy— Gabi Santapaola (@GabiSantapaola) October 16, 2024
The BBC posted the entire conversation between the employee and the 911 dispatcher:
Dispatcher: 911, what is your emergency?
Hotel Clerk: Hello, good afternoon, I just called but was cut off. I am calling from Hotel Casa Sur Palermo, Costa Rica.
Dispatcher: What’s going on over there, sir?
Hotel Clerk: Well, we have a guest who has overdosed on drugs and alcohol. It’s littering and breaking all over the room and we need you to send someone over please
Dispatcher: He is under the influence of alcohol and drugs, sir?
Hotel Clerk: Yes, that’s right
Dispatcher: You said this was a hotel? What’s it called?
Hotel clerk: Casa Sur Palermo. We need you to send someone urgently because the guest’s life may be in danger. He’s in a room with a balcony and we’re a little afraid that he might…
Dispatcher: How long has he been a guest of the hotel?
Hotel Clerk: He’s been here for two or three days.
Dispatcher: I see, you won’t know any other details because you can’t enter the room, right?
Hotel employee: No
Dispatcher: We will also notify EMS.
Hotel Clerk: Yes, what I want is for someone to come urgently because…
Dispatcher: We have notified emergency services. Are there any other details you can provide. Who are you, are you in charge of the hotel?
Hotel employee: I am the head receptionist.
Dispatcher: Alarm reported. What is your name sir?
Hotel employee: Esteban.
Dispatcher: Thanks for the call, you can now release the line.
Hotel Clerk: Are you sending the police too or not?
Dispatcher: You told me the guest was under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and EMS couldn’t get in on their own.
Hotel Clerk: Emergency doesn’t come in alone? Okay, okay.
Dispatcher: Signal received. I wish you a nice day.
Hotel employee: Okay, thank you, you too
The 31-year-old singer fell from the third floor at 5 p.m. local time (11 p.m. Bulgarian time). According to the doctors in Buenos Aires, Paine had injuries that were incompatible with life after the fall and it was impossible to save him.
Billboard magazine reports that the 31-year-old singer was in the Argentine capital for a Niall Horan concert on October 2. The two were members of the famous band One Direction along with Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles. The group was formed in 2010 and the five were beloved by millions of teenagers around the world. They later broke up and pursued their careers separately.
In front of the Casa Sur hotel, fans of the singer organized an impromptu vigil. Crying and hugging, they lit candles and softly sang One Direction songs. Before they started clapping, they held a moment of silence.