Emiliano Sala, Premier League club Cardiff City's record new signing, is presumed dead after the aircraft he was travelling on disappeared over the English Channel. Search operation to find the missing plane was called off on Tuesday.
Sala was signed by Cardiff City for a reported fee of 17 million euros (USD 19.3 million) from French club Nantes last week. He was flying to Cardiff when the plane he was on disappeared from radars around 20 kilometres from the island of Guernsey off the north coast of France. French civil aviation authorities confirmed that the Argentine striker was on board the plane.
A search operation covering a 3,000 sqkm area over the English Channelwas launched and authorities said that they spotted a number of floating objects in the water.
Sala's father Horacio admitted that not having received information on his son makes him “fear the worst”. Rescuers also feared the same citing that the sea temperatures are so cold and if the plane landed on water, chances of survival are slim.
Sala joined Nantes in 2015 for one million euros and had scored 42 Ligue 1 goals in three and a half season before signing to Cardiff City.
“We were very shocked upon hearing the news that the plane had gone missing. We expected Emiliano to arrive last night into Cardiff and today was due to be his first day with the team,” the club's executive director Ken Choo said in a statement. “We continue to pray for positive news.”
Fans leave tributes outside Cardiff City stadium for Emiliano Sala | Reuters
Cardiff called off a training session planned for Tuesday morning, and laid flowers and scarves outside the club's ground. Sala, after signing with the Premier League club, had said that he couldn't wait to start training with his new teammates and “get down to work”.
Hundreds of fans of his former team gathered for a vigil at Nantes on Tuesday evening, placing flowers, scarves and flags on the water fountain and chanting Sala's name at Place Royale. The French club's president Waldemar Kita said that he still had hope about Sala.
Sala's last post on Instagram showed him surrounded by players from Nantes. “La ultima ciao (the last goodbye),” he wrote.
With input from agencies
