Niall Horan has paid tribute to his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne, saying he is “absolutely devastated” by his death.
The 31-year-old pop star suffered “extremely serious injuries” after landing in the courtyard of the CasaSur Hotel in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires, police said.
Payne had flown to Buenos Aires to attend the Horan’s concert at the Movistar Arena earlier this month.
In a statement on Instagram, Horan wrote: “I feel so fortunate that I got to see him recently. I sadly didn’t know that after saying goodbye and hugging him that evening, I would be saying goodbye forever. It’s heartbreaking.”
Liam Payne latest: Follow live updates
He described his former bandmate as having an “energy for life and a passion for work that was infectious”.
“He was the brightest in every room and always made everyone feel happy and secure,” he said.
He went on: “All the laughs we had over the years, sometimes about the simplest of things, keep coming to mind through the sadness.
“We got to live out our wildest dreams together and I will cherish every moment we had forever. The bond and friendship we had doesn’t happen often in a lifetime.”
He said news of the death of his “amazing friend” just didn’t “feel real”.
He signed off his post, “Thank you for everything Payno, Love you brother, Nialler”.
Former One Direction members Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan put out a statement saying they were “completely devastated” following Payne’s death.
Read more:
Liam Payne dies – what we know so far
Payne posts on Snapchat hours before death
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