The drummer of the well-known US rock band Foo Fighters, Taylor Hawkins, is dead. The musician died during a current world tour, as his bandmates announced on Saturday night.

"The Foo Fighters family is saddened by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins," the band wrote.

"His musical spirit and infectious laugh will live on forever among all of us."

Hawkins lived to be fifty years old.

He leaves behind a wife and several children.

The band asked for respect for the privacy of the drummer's loved ones.

She did not provide any information on the cause of death.

Found in hotel in Bogota

The multiple Grammy Award-winning rock band is currently on a world tour, stopping off in South America.

Colombian prosecutors said Hawkins was found dead in a hotel in Bogotá.

On Friday, the Foo Fighters should have performed in the Colombian capital at the music festival Estereo Pìcnic.

A Germany concert in Berlin was also planned for the summer.

Hawkins has been with the Foo Fighters - one of America's most influential and critically acclaimed alternative rock bands - since 1997.

He was involved as a drummer on some of the group's biggest hits, including "Learn to Fly" and "Best of You."

He previously played drums for Canadian singer Alanis Morissette until frontman Dave Grohl – formerly Nirvana drummer – poached him.

In an interview with the station 95.5 KLOS last year, Grohl described his bandmate as an "incredible drummer" and described his personal relationship with him as extremely close.

When he met Hawkins in person for the first time, he thought within seconds: "Wow: you are either my twin, my spirit animal or my best friend."

Concern among fellow musicians

Numerous fellow musicians expressed concern about Hawkins' early death.

Black Sabbath star Ozzy Osbourne praised the drummer as a "great human being and an incredible musician".

The guitarist of the rock band Rage Against the Machine, Tom Morello, recalled the "unstoppable rock power" that emanated from Hawkins.

The band Nickelback wrote on Twitter that they were "completely in disbelief at the news about Taylor Hawkins."

Punk rocker Billy Idol also spoke of “tragic” news.