The family of former One Direction star Liam Payne have said they are “heartbroken” by his death, in their first statement.

The singer died after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Argentina on Wednesday (October 16).

Local police said the 31-year-old fell into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires before medics confirmed his death.

A statement from his family, issued via a spokeswoman to the PA news agency said: “We are heartbroken. 

"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.”

Tributes have been paid to the singer, with pictures showing shocked fans gathering outside the hotel after police cordoned off the area, with forensic investigators in white protective suits and blue gloves seen entering and leaving.

Fans were photographed lighting candles and leaving flowers at the side of the road in an impromptu vigil as they paid tribute to the music star.

Singer Olly Murs, who is from Witham in Essex and starred on The X Factor a year before One Direction, said on Instagram that he was “lost for words”, describing Payne’s death as “devastating”.

“We always had a good laugh when we saw each other, sometimes the catch-ups were only short and sweet but when we did it was mostly about how annoyingly good his hair always looked, or our love for Becks, the old XF (X Factor) days and the tour we shared together,” Murs wrote beside a picture of the two.

Recommended reading:

“Liam shared the same passions as me, the same dreams so to see his life now end so young hits hard, I’m truly gutted and devastated for his family and of course his son Bear losing a dad.”

Payne formed the boy band One Direction in 2010, alongside Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles, after they individually auditioned for The X Factor.

After becoming one of the biggest pop groups in the world, with five albums and four world tours, they went on indefinite hiatus in 2016.