Emiliano Sala’s sister has made an emotional plea for the search to continue for her “fighter” brother following the Cardiff City striker’s disappearance.
After completing his club record £15million move to the Premier League on Friday night, Sala was on board a Piper Malibu aircraft which crashed near the Channel Islands on Monday evening.
The 28-year-old and the plane’s pilot – David Ibbotson– were the only men on board the aircraft and despite extensive searches, neither man has been found.
On Thursday afternoon, Guernsey Police called off the search with the force rating the chances of survival as “extremely remote”.
Sala’s sister Romina had travelled to Cardiff and in front of the media at the St David’s Hotel in the Welsh capital, appealed for the authorities not to give up.
She said: “We understand the facts and we really appreciate the efforts. We want to say thanks to the two clubs (Cardiff and Nantes) and everyone who is looking for Emiliano, but my message is please, please, please don’t stop with the search. For me, they are still alive.
“It is very difficult to express my feelings at the moment because it is really hard.
“We have had a lot of support from the two clubs and I thank all the fans for their efforts, but deep down in the bottom of my heart I know that Emiliano – who is a fighter – is still alive. I know Emiliano and the pilot are somewhere in the middle of the channel.
“We are not going to give up.”
Sala had signed for Cardiff last Friday before the deal was officially confirmed on Saturday. Over the weekend he travelled back to former club Nantes to say goodbye to his team-mates.
His plane back to Cardiff from Nantes on Monday never arrived in the Welsh capital. The footballer voiced fears about the safety of the missing plane in a WhatsApp audio message he sent to friends. In the message, he said: “I am here in the plane that seems like it is about to fall to pieces. I’m scared.”
Romina Sala added: “The last time I spoke with Emiliano was on Monday before he went to say farewell to the Nantes players. He was really excited to come over to Cardiff and we were in touch all day long sending pictures and messages.
“The comfort and support of the people from around the world with regards to the missing of Emiliano and the pilot has been incredible. Please try to be under the skin of the next of kin to try to understand the suffering of this moment. I understand the effort, but the plea is the same – please don’t stop the search. At the bottom of my heart I know Emiliano is still alive and somewhere in the Channel Islands.
“Questions are for another moment. Right now there are two families desperate to know the whereabouts of two people. Questions about how Emiliano went into the plane and what’s happened are for another moment, not right now.
“Without knowing what the next steps are, the next step is to go to the search place to try to push it forwards. The only thing I want is to find my brother and see him again.”
Cardiff’s owner Vincent Tan said in a statement issued by the club on Thursday night, “Monday evening’s news shook everyone at Cardiff City FC to the core.
“We were looking forward to providing Emiliano with the next step in his life and career. Those who met Emiliano described a good-natured and humble young man who was eager to impress in the Premier League.
“The response from the football community has been truly touching and we place on record our sincere thanks to those who have sent messages of support. We also thank everyone involved with the search and rescue operation, and continue to pray for Emiliano, David Ibbotson and their families.”
