The caller — who describes themselves as the head of reception and does not mention Payne by name — says the guest had been there for two or three days.
Sistema de Atencion Medica de Emergencia, the emergency health service, confirmed to Telemundo that Payne fell from the balcony of his third-floor room at the hotel in the city’s Palermo district.
SAME director Alberto Crescenti told Argentine TV station Todo Noticias TV that Payne was found dead a few minutes after 911 call. When paramedics found him there was no possibility of resuscitation, he said. adding that Payne appeared to have a fracture at the base of his skull.
The results of an autopsy are expected as early as Thursday.
In a series of Snapchat posts uploaded to Payne’s account on Wednesday, he talked about his time in Argentina, how he had been playing polo, and mentioned that his girlfriend was heading back to Florida.
The U.K Foreign Office said in a statement: “We are in contact with local authorities regarding reports of the death of a British man in Argentina.”
Firefighters were seen removing Payne’s body from the scene early Thursday as fans gathered, Reuters reported.
Representatives for Payne have not responded to NBC News’ request for comment.