Liam Payne was allegedly making ‘jokes’ and posing for pictures with fans just days before tragically falling to his death in Argentina.
Former X Factor contestant Payne, 31, was pronounced dead by officials on Wednesday (October 16), with a preliminary post-mortem examination suggesting he died of external and internal bleeding injuries.
Since news broke of the late singer’s death, fans and celebrities alike have come out in droves to pay tribute to him and reminisce on their time together.
Liam Payne was pronounced dead on Wednesday, aged 31 (Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
One fan, named Noelia, has come forward to discuss her brief interactions with Payne on the streets of Buenos Aires.
Speaking to PEOPLE, the woman claimed she was notified via social media that the ex-One Direction hitmaker was in the Argentinian capital.
“I ran into him by chance. I had found out on Twitter that he was here for Niall’s show,” she explained. “We took photos together. I waited for him to approach us, and we took pictures with all the fans.”
The woman added: “He talked to us, hugged us, and even made jokes.”
Noelia further explained that she and others began gathering outside of Payne’s accommodation, hoping to glimpse the ‘Steal My Girl’ favourite.
He allegedly stopped to ‘[take] photos with everyone’, and she said there was ‘nothing strange or unusual’ regarding his behaviour.
Payne, who is thought to have been in Argentina to attend Niall Horan’s show at the Movistar Arena on October 2, was ‘dancing, waving and cheering’ during the concert.
“When Niall started singing one of the One Direction songs, everyone was looking at Liam,” she told the publication. “He seemed to be enjoying himself.”
In footage shared by Payne to Instagram, the star could be seen enjoying Horan’s show with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy.
In a subsequent Snapchat video, he later confessed he was: “So happy [he] got to see Niall in concert.”
14 days after attending Horan’s gig, Payne died falling from a third-floor balcony of the Casa Sur hotel, situated in the trendy Palermo neighbourhood in north Buenos Aires.
Authorities were initially alerted to the case after reports that a man at the hotel was acting ‘aggressive’.
Alberto Crescenti, the head of the state emergency medical system, later confirmed the father-of-one had died at the scene after falling roughly 40 metres from the balcony.
The incident took place at around 5pm local time and saw Payne suffering ‘severe injuries which were incompatible with life’.
“The alarm was raised at 5.04pm local time saying a person was lying in an internal patio at Casa Sur,” he said.
It’s understood Payne was in South America to attend Niall Horan’s concert (Snapchat / Liam Payne)
“At 5.11pm an ambulance arrived and the man was certified dead.
“Afterwards we found out he had been a famous singer. Unfortunately the injuries he had suffered as a result of the fall proved to be fatal. There was no possibility of resuscitating him.”
Following his death, his former One Direction bandmates Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik have released heartbreaking tribute statements.
Styles’ mum, Anne Twist, also took to Instagram to claim Payne was ‘just a boy’, while former X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne has admitted that her ‘heart aches’ for the Wolverhampton-born star.
Payne found fame on the ITV talent show in 2010 and after placing third with One Direction, went on to score four No.1 albums with his bandmates.
Following the group’s hiatus in 2016, the entertainment icon – who shares a son with Girls Aloud singer Cheryl – embarked on a solo career, releasing his debut single ‘Strip That Down’ with rapper Quavo in 2017.