There is “genuine concern” Premier
League footballer Emiliano Sala was on a light aircraft which
disappeared between France and Cardiff.
It is feared the
Argentine striker was one of two people on board the Piper Malibu, which
went missing off Alderney in the Channel Islands on Monday night.
Cardiff
City, which signed the 28-year-old from French club Nantes on Saturday,
said it was “seeking clarification” as to what happened, a search
resumed at 08:00 GMT.
Guernsey police said “no trace” of the
missing aircraft had been found. It left Nantes at 19:15 and had been
flying at 5,000ft when it contacted Jersey air traffic control
requesting descent, the force said. The plane lost contact while at
2,300ft.
Searches were suspended at 02:00 “due to strengthening
winds, worsening sea conditions and reducing visibility”, police
added. Cardiff Airport confirmed the aircraft was due to arrive from
Nantes but a spokeswoman said there were no further details.
The
Met Office said at the time the aircraft went missing “there were some
showers around, but nothing too intense. Wind speeds were not too bad –
average speeds were around 15 to 20mph”. As the search continued into
the evening though, it became wetter and windier.
The flight
disappeared off radar near the Casquets lighthouse, infamous among
mariners as the site of many shipwrecks, 13km north-west of Alderney. HM
Coastguard said the disappearance was not in the UK search and rescue
area, but it had sent two helicopters to help.
A spokeswoman
said they were assisting Guernsey Coastguard with a search for a light
aircraft off Alderney. “HM Coastguard helicopters from Solent and
Newquay have been helping to search overnight with nothing found,” she
said.