Three charges related to the singer's death

Three people have been charged in connection with the death of One Direction star Liam Payne, Argentine authorities said.

The singer died on October 16 after falling from the third-floor balcony of a Buenos Aires hotel.

Argentine prosecutors said a person who accompanied the artist was charged with abandonment of a person resulting in death, as well as supplying and arranging drugs.

A hotel employee and a third person were also charged with drug supply. None of those arrested were named.

Payne, 31, was one of the most recognizable names in pop after appearing on The X Factor in the 2010s and rising to fame with boy band One Direction.

Argentine authorities have been investigating Payne's final days at the CasaSur Hotel.

Prosecutors said toxicology tests showed traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his system.

An autopsy revealed the cause of death to be “multitrauma” and “internal and external bleeding” as a result of the fall from the hotel balcony.

According to prosecutors, medical reports also indicated that Payne may have fallen into a state of semi- or total unconsciousness.

Prosecutors say this eliminates the possibility that Payne acted consciously or voluntarily and concludes that he neither knew what he was doing nor understood it.

Authorities also conducted nine raids on homes in Buenos Aires.

They are also continuing to examine Payne's broken laptop and other confiscated devices.

The singer's body was handed over to his family He is scheduled to be flown back to Great Britain on Wednesday.