Fans of Liam Payne have spoken of their heartbreak and disbelief at the former One Direction star dying at the age of 31, as they said: “It feels like we lost a friend.”
Payne died on Wednesday evening after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
As tributes poured in from all over the world, fans gathered at the Casa Sur hotel to pay tribute to a singer who, from being a teenager in Wolverhampton, went on to gain stratospheric fame as part of best-selling boy band One Direction.
Two sisters told Sky News they took a three-hour bus journey to the hotel in Argentina’s capital city in order to pay tribute to the Strip That Down singer.
Selena, 21 and Augustina, 25, from La Plata, recalled how they had VIP tickets for One Direction when they performed in Argentina in 2014.
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Liam Payne’s father Geoff has visited the hotel where the 31-year-old singer died
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“It feels like so recent, and now that Liam’s gone I feel pain in every part of my body and my heart.
“Right now when I’m here I see all the love he always had, not just here but across the world.
“He didn’t deserve that, he is so young and life is so cruel sometimes.”
Rocio Hipperdingar, 24, from La Plata
Rocio Hipperdingar, 24, also from La Plata, said she became a fan of One Direction when she was 13.
“I spent many years of my life thinking of them, listening to their music and they were my support in very bad times,” she said, adding Payne’s death was “unbelievable”.
She said she travelled to the hotel to “remember all the good times I felt with their music”, adding: “To be a fan is a very special feeling and it feels like we have lost a friend.”
Aelen Urquesta, 24, from Buenos Aires
Aelen Urquesta, 24, from Buenos Aires, said she is “still processing” what happened.
“I’m 24 and have loved Liam since I was 14 so it’s been a long time,” she said.
Speaking about joining other fans at the hotel, she said: “I find comfort being here with the other fans because I love One Direction fans so much, we are a sisterhood.”
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Payne’s father Geoff arrived in Buenos Aires on Friday to arrange for his son’s body to be returned to the UK.
He was seen outside the Casa Sur hotel reading tributes and looking at flowers left by fans.
Argentinian officials said Mr Payne visited Buenos Aires’s morgue to identify his son before meeting with the local prosecutor’s office.
Local media reported he was also expected to pick up some of Payne’s belongings during the visit.
Selena and Augustina said when Payne’s father “came to see the notes around the tree, we shielded him from the cameras because the love we have is so big for Liam and his family as well”.
Ms Urquesta echoed the sentiment, saying: “When Liam’s dad came here, we surrounded him and all the comfort that we gave him was very heartfelt.”