Emiliano Sala: Plane of missing Cardiff striker found

On Sunday night investigators said they had located the wreckage on the seabed of the English Channel and the families of those on board had been told.

Sala had just completed his £15million move to Cardiff when the plane carrying him and pilot Ibbotson disappeared over the English Channel on January 21 after leaving Nantes for the Welsh capital.

After rescuers and Guernsey police called off the official search, Sala’s sister, Romina, organised the GoFundMe page that led to a private search being started, and which eventually found the plane.

"Wreckage of the plane carrying Emiliano Sala and piloted by David Ibbotson was located early this morning," marine scientist David Mearns, who directed the search, said on Twitter.

Mearns said Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) had moved its vessel over the position his team had located to visually identify the plane using a remote-operated vehicle.

"The families of Emiliano Sala and David Ibbotson have been notified by police. The AAIB will be making a statement tomorrow. Tonight our sole thoughts are with the families and friends of Emiliano and David," Mearns said.

Cardiff paid tribute to the Argentine ahead of their 2-0 victory over Bournemouth on Saturday, the first home game since Sala’s disappearance.