Liam Payne's sister has spoken out about the moment she learned the heartbreaking news that her brother had passed away.
On Wednesday, it was announced that the former One Direction star had passed away suddenly at the age of 31.
Payne had been staying at the CasaSur hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
During his time in the country, he attended a concert of former 1D bandmate, Niall Horan, along with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy. The couple seemed in good spirits as Payne shared footage of them dancing at the concern on his social media pages, and later shared selfies with Horan.
Sadly, two days after Cassidy left the country, the heartbreaking news broke that Payne had died following a fall from the balcony of his third-floor hotel room.
Despite authorities attending to the singer promptly, Payne's injuries were so severe that first responders stated that there had been "no possibility of resuscitation".
Alberto Crescenti, head of the Buenos Aires emergency services, previously revealed Payne had a "cranial fracture and extremely serious injuries that led to his immediate death".
The results of Payne's preliminary autopsy were released on Thursday, detailing that the singer suffered severe injuries that led to “internal and external hemorrhaging” from the fall, according to a post-mortem carried out by two forensic pathologists in Buenos Aires.
Following the news, tributes poured in for the singer on social media, from family, friends, and fans alike.
Now, Liam's sister - Nicola - has recalled the moment she learned the devastating news.
Taking to Instagram to share a number of personal photos of her brother, the grieving sister wrote: "When I saw the news pop up on my phone that you had left us I went cold, I wanted so much for this to be untrue.
"I have spent days hoping that it was a mistake and somebody has got it wrong."
"You were truly too good for this earth, you are an angel who just lived for making people smile and happy," she continued. "You have always shown kindness to everyone you met and it shows with just how many people have confirmed what we always knew!"
She continued: "You led your life with a motto of why bother doing something unless you are brilliant at it, and Liam you were certainly brilliant at everything you did!!"
Highlighting the issue of people on social media jumping to conclusions about the singer's death, Nicola wrote: "Unfortunately this cruel world is always to quick to judge someone from a few 5 second clips, they then think it entitles them to be able to speak like they know you. We knew you and we loved you."
"I hope you have finally found peace up there and that you'll continue to look after us all as you have done in life," she concluded the post. "We will make sure Bear knows about his daddy and how much you loved him, we promise this."
Nicola's message comes after the singer's other sister, Ruth Gibbins, also paid tribute to their 31-year-old brother.
"I don't believe this is happening. Many times have I poured my heart out publicly with pride about Liam but never much about life as his sister," Gibbins wrote in a statement shared to Instagram.
"Liam is my best friend, no one could ever make me laugh as much as him, doing his impressions always had me creasing and he loved seeing how much of a laugh he could get."
Ruth continued: "She wrote: "Liam, my brain is struggling to catch up with what's happening and I don't understand where you've gone.
"What I do love most about you is your ability to make me laugh, I never chuckle as much as I do when I'm with you with anyone else."
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you," she added. "One last time I need you to know, I'm here if you need anything, I'd drive to the end of the universe to bring you back."
Her statement continued: "I don't feel this world was good enough or kind enough to you, and quite often over the last few years, you've had to really try hard to overcome all that was being aimed at you.
"You just wanted to be loved and to make people happy with your music. You never believed you were good enough, I hope you can now see this outpouring of love that you never received in your time."
The singer's father, Geoff, has since traveled to the city for the recognition of the body and to arrange its repatriation. It has been reported that Payne's body is expected to remain in Argentina while authorities await toxicology results.
Our thoughts continue to go out to Payne's family, friends, and fans at this difficult time.
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