Zayn Malik is reportedly "in shock" over Liam Payne's sudden death.

A source close to Zayn has revealed to DailyMail that former One Direction star is 'in absolute bits' after bandmate Liam's death.

Liam passed away at the age of 31 on Wednesday night, after falling down from the hotel balcony.

"Zayn was told in the early hours of this morning and has been in absolute bits," source has revealed.

They added, "He is in shock, and his parents have been in touch with Liam’s family to offer their support and condolences."

According to insider Zayn is "surrounded by friends" as they don't want "him to be alone at the moment."

The source stated that it "had been a while since Zayn and Liam had spoken' due to 'issues they had with one another in the past."

However, they added, "But they respected each other from a distance. They didn’t hate each other but they couldn’t see eye to eye on different things."

"But they both felt that they had been exploited in the music industry," they said.

Additionally, Zayn's sister also paid tribute to the late singer on Instagram.

Sharing photos of Liam and Zayn together from their One Direction days, Waliyah wrote, "Literally hearbroken. RIP. I have no words."