Liam Payne’s father arrives in Buenos Aires a few days after the pop star’s fatal hotel accident

BUENOS AIRES – Former One Direction star Liam Payne’s father arrived in Buenos Aires on Friday to arrange for his son’s body to be returned to England, two days after the famous boy band singer fell to his death from a hotel balcony.

After landing at Buenos Aires International Airport in the early hours of the morning, Geoff Payne was photographed emerging from a downtown hotel in a blue suit accompanied by British consular officials and getting into a sleek black van.

Argentine authorities said Payne went to the local prosecutor’s office, which is investigating the case according to protocol, to organize the repatriation of his son’s remains. Local media reported that he later visited the mortuary.

It is the first time that one of Payne’s family members has been seen in public since the star’s sudden death, which sparked great sadness and emotion from major pop industry figures and die-hard One Direction fans around the world. The shock hit his home particularly hard, with his family saying in a statement that they were “heartbroken.”

“Liam will live forever in our hearts and we will remember him for his kind, funny and courageous soul,” the family said in a statement shortly after his death. “We support each other as a family as best we can and ask for privacy and space during this terrible time.”

In various media interviews over the years, Payne had often expressed his gratitude and affection for his auto mechanic father and nurse mother, describing them as hard-working and supportive. Both parents made guest appearances in “One Direction: This Is Us,” the 2013 concert documentary about the popular boy band.

“When I see him on stage I’m bursting with pride, but we miss him so much,” Payne’s mother Karen said at one point in the film.

The 31-year-old singer’s final hours at the hotel in Palermo, a trendy area of ​​Buenos Aires, remain unclear as Argentine prosecutors say he appeared to have consumed drugs and alcohol excessively. Prosecutors cited investigators who found a mess in Payne’s hotel room with what appeared to be narcotics and alcohol scattered on broken items and furniture.

It remains unclear whether Payne intentionally jumped from the third floor or accidentally fell. The autopsy conducted a few hours after his death revealed that he died as a result of his three-story fall, which caused “multiple trauma” and “internal and external bleeding” in the skull, chest, abdomen and limbs. The results of toxicology reports are pending.

Investigators said there were no signs that anyone else was involved in his death, citing the lack of defensive wounds on Payne’s body, which also suggests he did not try to protect himself from the fall. According to the prosecutor’s report, Payne may have entered a state of semi-consciousness or unconsciousness.