LONDON • The search for missing Cardiff City player Emiliano Sala should no longer be considered a rescue operation, said the chief officer of Channel Islands Air Search last night.
"It's getting to that stage now," he said in a telephone interview. "There's a lot of people still on the hunt," said John Fitzgerald, adding that hopes of finding survivors are "very much plucking at straws".
A joint French and British search effort resumed yesterday with airplanes, helicopters and ships.
Sala, who signed for Cardiff on Saturday from French Ligue 1 club Nantes for a club-record fee of £15 million (S$26.4 million), was flying to the Welsh capital on a single-engine Piper PA-46 Malibu aircraft when air traffic controllers lost contact with it off the English Channel island of Guernsey.
Floating objects have since been found in the Channel and, at press time, the operation was ongoing.
The Argentinian Sala reportedly sent a voicemail message to his father saying he was frightened the plane was about to break up.
In a transcript of the call, quoted by the Mirror, he said: "I'm here on a plane that looks like it's about to fall apart, and I'm going to Cardiff…
"If in an hour and a half you have no news from me, I don't know if they are going to send someone to look for me because they cannot find me. But you know… Dad, how scared am I!"
He sent a similar audio message in Spanish to a group of friends on WhatsApp, said Diego Rolan, a Uruguayan footballer who told a radio station in his home country that he was among the recipients of the message.
The man speaking sounded calm, asking his friends how they are doing, looking forward to joining his new team, complaining of being tired, and even yawning. But he also returned several times to his concern about the flight.
Hundreds of fans, many in tears, also gathered in Nantes' city centre on Tuesday evening for an emotional tribute to the missing player, laying bouquets of yellow flowers while chanting Sala's name.
His former club said in a statement the tribute was a spontaneous initiative by fans before thanking "supporters and the entire football family for the numerous expressions of support".
Amid the outpouring of grief, many have wondered why Sala was travelling in a propeller plane, but Cardiff told news website Wales Online they had offered their new striker a commercial flight.
"We spoke to the player and asked him if he wanted us to make arrangements for his flight to have been commercial," club chairman Mehmet Dalman said.
"He declined. I can't tell you who arranged the flight because I don't know at this stage, but it wasn't Cardiff."
Dalman added Bluebirds manager Neil Warnock was in a "state of shock".
He said: "Neil is human and he's affected as much as we all are. At the moment, there's a vacuum of information , it's very unsettling.
"We're still praying, we still have prayers. Cardiff will be involved with the investigation. We won't leave a single stone unturned until we have all the facts."
According to the BBC, Cardiff have no plans to rearrange their next match, a Premier League trip to Arsenal next Tuesday.
NYTIMES, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, THE GUARDIAN
'Happy' Morata slays Malta. Mar 28, 2019, 5:00 am. Football: Morata double gives Spain win over defensive Malta. Mar 27, 2019, 6:04 am. Schar's concussion sparks calls for Uefa probe.
'Comfortable' Morata slays Malta - Latest News
Liverpool returned to their swaggering best and retained a slender lead in the Premier League with a 5-0 thrashing of Watford on Wednesday that was powered by two goals apiece from Sadio Mane and
Stylish Liverpool thrash Watford 5-0 to stay top of league
Neymar heads to Qatar for medical assessment | Football News
LOS ANGELES: David Beckham called his former team LA Galaxy his "family" and thanked Los Angeles for embracing him at the unveiling of his statue before the Major League Soccer club's season-opener on Saturday.
Soccer: Beckham salutes LA Galaxy and Los Angeles as statue
Leonardo Bonucci has finally responded after fierce criticism for blaming Moise Kean for being subjected to racist abuse in Juventus' win against Cagliari.. The Italian forward scored the second goal in the 2-0 victory, celebrating in front of the home supporters after previously receiving abuse throughout the match.
Bonucci backtracks on criticism of Juventus team-mate Kean
Football: China strips South Korea of Panda Cup for 'indecent
Norway's NRK television will broadcast parts of the trial, but is not allowed to show Breivik's testimony. In a manifesto he published online before the attacks, Breivik wrote that "patriotic resistance fighters" should use trials "as a platform to further our cause." Breivik surrendered to police 1 hour and 20 minutes after he arrived on Utoya.
Legal purge in Norway after World War II - Wikipedia
Rafael Benítez fumes after Wolves deny Newcastle with stoppage-time equaliser says Benitez (Sky Sports) Rafael Benítez must hate it when the fourth official holds up the board for added time
Rafael Benítez fumes after Wolves deny Newcastle with
Jesus fires as Man City snatch top spot from Liverpool Gabriel Jesus's return to form as the Brazilian struck twice in a 3-1 win over Everton as Manchester City leapfrogged Liverpool back to
Jesus fires as Man City snatch top spot from Liverpool
Solskjaer: United don't fear Camp Nou test Manchester United's Norwegian head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer walks on the pitch at the end of their English Premier League match against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in London on March 10, 2019.
Champions League: Solskjaer insists Man United don't fear
Premier League: Liverpool Back On Top With Win Over Tottenham, Chelsea Defeat Cardiff City Updated: 31 March 2019 23:09 IST A 2-1 win over Cardiff City keeps sixth placed Chelsea in contention for
Cardiff City v Chelsea betting preview: Free Premier League
Chinese football was buoyed by an influx of funds and foreign stars after President Xi Jinping, who visited Manchester City in 2015, outlined ambitions to turn the world's most populous nation into a global football power.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp warns Manchester City his side
Lure of Italy strong, says Chelsea's homesick Sarri Sarri, who unusually for a top football coach came to the sport after a successful career as a banker, has enjoyed a fine end to a
Homesick Sarri hints at Italy return, but Juventus still
Crystal Palace put a dent in Arsenal's Champions League qualification hopes after strikers Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha made the most of defensive errors in a 3-2 win at the Emirates
Palace punish sloppy Arsenal in 3-2 win at the Emirates
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR News - Find latest News & top stories about TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR. Get more information about TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR at straitstimes.com. 'Fuming' Spurs must not dwell on Wolves loss
Arsenal vs Rennes: Unai Emery's Gunners have a system, a plan
sportslifetale.com/soccer/arsenal-vs-rennes-unai-emerys-gunners-have-a-system-a-plan-and-a-new-identity-are-they-finally-back/
Have Arsenal finally clicked? Have they turned into a team? Are they - for the first time in years - moving forwards again? We have been here far too many times already this season: the 11-game winning streak, the victories over Tottenham or Chelsea, the 'we've got our Arsenal back' at Craven Cottage back in […]
'Everyone is fuming' Harry Winks reveals how Tottenham
0 comments:
Post a Comment