New Cardiff City FC signing ‘on plane missing over English Channel’

Argentinian footballer Emiliano Sala was on board a plane that went missing over the English Channel on Monday night, French media have reported.

The 28-year-old Nantes striker was announced as a new signing for Premier League club Cardiff City on Saturday.

French media quoting police sources said Sala was one of two people on board a light aircraft that disappeared from radar on route from Nantes to Cardiff.

Rescue teams were scrambled to waters north of Guernsey after the light aircraft vanished, Guernsey Police said.

Graphic locates search for a missing aircraft near Alderney in the Channel Islands
Graphic locates search for a missing aircraft near Alderney in the Channel Islands

Searches of the area resumed on Tuesday morning, with authorities saying the missing plane had yet to be found.

Guernsey Police said the PA-46 Malibu, a single turbine engine aircraft carrying two people, departed Nantes at 7.15pm for Cardiff and was flying at an altitude of 5,000ft.

On passing Guernsey it “requested descent”, but Jersey air traffic control (ATC) lost contact with the plane while it was flying at 2,300ft.

Guernsey Coastguard received an alert at 8.23pm from Jersey ATC that a light aircraft had gone off their radar approximately 15 miles north of Guernsey.

A major search and rescue operation was triggered involving both St Peter Port and Alderney lifeboats and HM Coastguard’s Air Search 1 and 2 helicopters.

An update from Guernsey Police said: “The search was terminated at 02:00, with all search and rescue assets being stood down, due to strengthening winds, worsening sea conditions and reducing visibility.

“At this time no trace of the missing aircraft had been found.”

Air Search 1 and a French rescue helicopter based in Cherbourg resumed the search of the area at 8am on Tuesday.

A photo posted on Sala’s Instagram account on Monday appears to show him with his Nantes team-mates and the caption includes the word “ciao”.

La ultima ❤️ ciao @FCNantes 👋🏻💛💚 pic.twitter.com/SV1dNHbYYH

— Emiliano Sala (@EmilianoSala1) January 21, 2019

Premier League strugglers Cardiff paid a club record fee in the region of £15 million for the footballer, one of the leading scorers in the French Ligue 1.

According to the Cardiff FC website, the footballer began his playing career as a youth at Argentinian side Club Proyecto Crecer, before heading to France, signing for FC Girondins Bordeaux and making his debut for the club in 2012.

Since the 2015-16 season, Sala has scored 42 goals for FC Nantes, the website said.

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