Plane carrying missing Cardiff player, Sala, found

Emiliano-Sala

The plane carrying missing Cardiff striker, Emiliano Sala, has been found in the English Channel.

The plane was located following an extensive search of the area led by marine scientist, David Mearns, with a search boat positively identifying the aircraft after discovery on Sunday.

Mr Mearns confirmed the breakthrough in a series of tweets on Sunday.

There was no talk about whether the body of Sala or the pilot, David Ibbotson, were identified.

Initial search and recovery efforts were called off three days after the disappearance of the flight.

A private search was convened after Sala’s family raised funds to continue the efforts with support from the likes of Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and the President of Argentina, Mauricio Macri.

A target of €300,000 (£260k/$342k) was met on a GoFundMe page to aid the search.

Sala was aboard the Piper Malibu aircraft on January 22 as he flew from Nantes to Wales after completing a £15m ($19.8m) transfer to Cardiff City.

The Argentine had flown back to France to say goodbye to his team-mates and, on his way back to England, the plane carrying the forward and pilot David Ibbotson disappeared from radar close to the Channel Islands.

A detailed statement is expected on Monday (today).