Liam Payne’s father reads tributes and kisses pictures outside Argentinian hotel where One Direction star died
Liam Payne’s father has visited the hotel in Argentina where his son died, as he read tributes left for the One Direction star.
Geoff Payne was seen reading messages and looking at flowers placed outside the Casa Sur Hotel in the capital Buenos Aires.
He was watched on by a crowd of mourners.
Sky correspondent Martha Kelner in Buenos Aires said: “Geoff paused occasionally to put on his glasses to read the notes written in English and picked up the pictures to kiss them.
“He also thanked fans for being there.”
Follow latest: Cheryl posts about Liam Payne’s death
The singer died aged 31 on Wednesday after falling from a balcony on the third floor of the hotel.
Payne’s father arrived in Argentina on Friday to arrange for the return of his son’s body to the UK.
Earlier, he was seen leaving a different hotel in the city, accompanied by British consular officials and security staff.
Argentinian officials said Mr Payne visited the city’s morgue to identify his son before meeting with the local prosecutor’s office to organise the repatriation of his body.
Local media reported he was expected to pick up some of his son’s belongings during the visit.
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Liam Payne's dad visits the scene at Buenos Aires hotel
Martha Kelner
@marthakelner
Geoff Payne was stoic as he spent around eight minutes walking around the tree outside the Casa Sur hotel where his son died.
It has become a makeshift altar over the past few evenings.
Fans have pinned pictures of Payne to the tree and left notes in tribute.
Geoff paused occasionally to put on his glasses to read the notes written in English and picked up the pictures to kiss them.
He also thanked fans for being there. While inside the hotel he was brought up by hotel staff to the third floor, where Payne stayed.
He wasn’t allowed into the exact room, which is still an active investigation scene but he was shown a room with a similar layout.
He earlier visited the morgue to confirm the identity of his son and to the prosecutor’s office to arrange for its repatriation to the UK.
On Thursday, Payne’s relatives said in a joint statement they were “heartbroken” by his death.
They added: “Liam will forever live in our hearts, and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul.
“We are supporting each other the best we can as a family and ask for privacy and space at this awful time.”
Payne expressed gratitude to his parents during several interviews with the media in recent years.
His father, a mechanic, and his mother, a nurse, both made cameos in One Direction: This Is Us, a 2013 concert documentary about the band.
“When I see him on stage I absolutely burst with pride, but we do miss him so much,” Payne’s mother, Karen, said at one point in the film.
Tributes have poured in for Payne following his death, including from his One Direction bandmates who issued a joint statement and their own personal messages.
Simon Cowell – who mentored the band on the X Factor and later signed them to his label – paid tribute to Payne on Friday evening, saying he was “truly devastated” and felt “empty”.
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Girls Aloud singer Cheryl, who was in a relationship with Payne between 2016 and 2018, and had a son with him in 2017, also spoke of her heartbreak on Friday and hit out at “abhorrent” reports surrounding his death.