Liam Payne funeral latest as One Direction star's body 'flown back to UK'

The funeral of former One Direction star Liam Payne could be held this week, according to reports. It comes weeks after the 31-year-old singer died after he fell from a hotel balcony in Argentina.

It has since been reported that Liam's family were given the green light to transport his body back to the UK. It is unknown whether or not his funeral will be a public affair or if it will be held in his native Wolverhampton.

Authorities in Argentina retained custody of Liam's body for investigation after his death on October 16. The Sistema de Atencio Medica de Emergencia in Argentina announced at the time: "British musician Liam James Payne, composer and guitarist, former member of the band One Direction, died today after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Palermo.

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"In the afternoon, police personnel from Precinct 14B were directed to the hotel by a 911 call reporting an aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol."

An autopsy has revealed that the much-loved 'For You' singer succumbed due to "polytrauma and internal and external bleeding", a result of catastrophic "multiple traumatic injuries", with the examination uncovering evidence of 25 injuries consistent with those inflicted by a high fall, Express reports.

On Saturday, November 2, it was reported that the body of Liam is set to be released, allowing his family to repatriate him back to the UK. It was suggested that by Monday, November 4, at the latest, his family could receive him and make necessary transport arrangements.

Argentinian newspaper La Nacion reported that Liam's father, Geoff Payne, 66, had been personally informed in a recent meeting with prosecution chief Andres Madrea that he could return to the UK with Liam's body two weeks after travelling to the South American country following the star's tragic fall.

It said: "All the documents are ready for the former One Direction singer to return to his homeland so a funeral can take place there next week. When Geoff Payne arrived in Argentina on October 18, he was told the repatriation process could take between four and five days, but due to the circumstances surrounding his son's death, things took longer than expected."

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