Emiliano Sala told his close friends he was ‘scared’ on ‘a plane that seems like it is falling to pieces’ in a voice note sent from the light aircraft which disappeared over the Channel on Monday night.
In the recording the Argentine footballer sounds calm but exhausted, as he tells friends they may need to ‘send someone to find me’ over the low roar of the plane’s single propeller.
Sala and his pilot last made contact from their Piper FA-46 Malibu just off Alderney at 8.30pm on Monday. On Tuesday coastguard helicopters and lifeboats scoured 1,100 square miles of sea before halting the search at nightfall.
They found nothing but debris and Guernsey Police said the pair’s chances of survival if they ditched in the icy waters were ‘slim’. They warned they are not expecting to find survivors.
In the Whatsapp audio note, Sala said in Spanish: ‘Hey guys, how is it going? Brother, I am really tired now. I was over in Nantes sorting things out, doing this, doing that.
‘I am now aboard a plan that seems like it is falling to pieces. I’m going to Cardiff now, crazy, and tomorrow we get going. I will train with my new team tomorrow.’
In a separate note sent a little later, he said: ‘How are you guys, all good?
‘If you do not have any more news from in an hour and a half, I don’t know if they need to send someone to find me. I am getting scared!’
Earlier it emerged he told his former Nantes teammate he ‘feared for his safety’ before he took off on his doomed flight across the English Channel.
The Argentinian striker completed a £15 million move to Cardiff City on Saturday. He returned to bid farewell to his old squad at Ligue 1 side Nantes, posting a poignant photo in which his former teammates sport their club’s blue strip, and Sala is wearing a hoodie with the logo: ‘Be good, be nice.’
His Instagram post of the photo bore the caption: ‘The last goodbye’.
Sala was making a round trip in the same plane and when he arrived in France, he reportedly told ex-teammate Nicolas Pallois – who drove him back to Nantes-Atlantiqe airport – that the trip out ‘had been bumpy and he feared his safety for the journey back.’
The 28-year-old was due to return to Wales in time for training this morning but the Piper Malibu aircraft he was in lost contact near the Casquets lighthouse off Alderney at 8.30pm last night. Cardiff City chief executive Ken Choo said everyone at the club was ‘very distressed’ and ‘praying for positive news.’
On Tuesday at 5pm Channel Islands rescue teams called off the search for the day. It is expected to resume today at first light.
In a statement Guernsey Police said: ‘During the course of the 15-hour search, which used multiple air and sea assets from the Channel Islands, UK and France, a number of floating objects have been seen in the water.
‘We have been unable to confirm whether any of these are from the missing aircraft.
‘We have found no signs of those on board. If they did land on the water, the chances of survival are at this stage, unfortunately, slim.’
Sala posted this photograph to social media last year, and regularly kept fans updated with his training. Friends said he was ‘fulfilling the dream of a lifetime’ by moving to the UK, and ‘could not wait to start playing in Cardiff’
The footballer’s mother, Mercedes Taffarel, said her son was ‘enjoying the best moment of his career so far.’ Sala posted this image of himself with his mother alongside the caption, ‘Thank you mum’
Emiliano Sala and Ken Choo CEO on January 18 at the Cardiff club as the striker got set to sign his three-and-a-half-year contact
Cardiff City announced the signing of the Argentinian striker (pictured with Bluebirds CEO Ken Choo on Saturday) from Nantes in a club record fee of £15million
‘The Last Goodbye’: Emiliano Sala posted this photograph on Instagram yesterday, bidding farewell to his old teammates at Nantes Football Club, after he signed a record £15million contract with Cardiff City. It is believed to be the last photo of him
Speaking from Argentina, Sala’s father Horacio said he was ‘desperate’ for news, and broke down in tears as he described him as a ‘small town humble boy’, adding: ‘I just can’t believe it.’
In an emotional statement the footballer’s mother, Mercedes Taffarel, said her son was ‘enjoying the best moment of his career so far.’
John Fitzgerald, chief officer of the Channel Islands Air Search, said he was not optimistic about finding Sala and the pilot.
He said: ‘I don’t think the coastguard are either. We just don’t know how it disappeared. It just completely vanished. There was no radio conversation’.
Mr Fitzgerald said there could be a ‘five per cent’ chance of finding Sala and the pilot. He said: ‘I think with the sea temperatures and the sea conditions the chances of finding anybody alive are reducing all the time.
‘The sea temperatures are very, very cold and just sap the core temperature of anybody in the water very, very quickly.’
John Fitzgerald, chief officer of the Channel Islands Air Search, said he was not optimistic about finding Sala and the pilot. Pictured left, an RNLI lifeboat searches off Alderney. Right: 1,150 square miles were searched today before nightfall
Police said in a statement that the aircraft left Nantes at 1915 for Cardiff and was flying at 5,000 feet. Police on Guernsey said the search for the plane resumed at 8am on Tuesday
This graphic shows the lifeboat’s path as it circled Alderney during a nearly-24-hour-long search for the aircraft
French police, the French civil aviation authority and Nantes Football Club confirmed that Sala was one of the two people on board the single-prop plane.
The Piper Malibu was flying at 2,300ft and requested descent as it passed Guernsey but was lost off radar as Jersey air traffic control attempted to make contact. It went missing as severe weather warnings about snow and ice were issued across France.
A search which was scrambled after the plane went missing was called off at 2am on Tuesday morning ‘due to strengthening winds, worsening sea conditions and reducing visibility’ but resumed at 8am, before being halted overnight again at sunset at 5pm today.
Thousands of people have joined vigils in France and in Wales, and have laid wreaths outside Sala’s former club in Nantes and new club in Cardiff.
Flowers were laid at the base of the statue of Cardiff City footballer Frederick Charles Keenor outside the stadium
Flowers, scarves, signs and candles have been left outside the Cardiff City ground for missing footballer Emiliano Sala
Welsh daffodils have been laid outside the Cardiff City ground in Wales as the team suspended training today
In Nantes where Sala has played since 2015, the flag of his native Argentina sat side by side with yellow tulips and candles
Nantes fans came to the ground tonight to hold a vigil for their missing former player Emiliano Sala, in the hopes an air and sea rescue mission might still report good news
A fan poses with an edition of France Football with the former Nantes star on the cover, in a vigil for the player
Outside the stadium in Nantes many fans held up Sala’s number 9 shirt. He had returned to bid farewell to his former team mates before starting a new chapter of his career in the UK
Supporters proudly held flags and shirts, and laid yellow tulips as they paid tribute to Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala
Tearful fans held scarves and candles tonight in Nantes as the Channel Islands called off their S&R mission overnight when darkness fell. It is due to start again tomorrow but officials said hopes of survival in the cold water was ‘slim’
Sala, pictured with Bluebirds CEO Ken Choo, became the club’s record signing last week after joining for a fee of £15m. Cardiff released this image of Sala posing with Choo on Saturday as he was given a private tour of their facilities
This morning the official Nantes FC Twitter account posted a statement and a message to their followers about the missing striker, reading: ‘The management and the whole Club are hopeful and it is the whole family of FC Nantes who prays that @EmilianoSala1 and the other passengers of the plane are finally found safe and sound,’ read a tweet on the official account.
‘FC Nantes joins the call of supporters for the rally tonight from 6.30 pm at the Royal Place in Nantes to drop a yellow tulip at the foot of the fountain,’ they added in a second tweet.
The club later changed its profile picture to a photo of Sala.
Sala’s former teammate, French Guingamp midfielder Lucas Deaux, tweeted: ‘I hope from the bottom of my heart that this is not true.’
Sala was ‘fulfilling the dream of a lifetime’ by moving to the UK, and ‘could not wait to start playing in Cardiff’, according to a friend in France.
When he left the grounds yesterday to head to Cardiff, Nantes FC tweeted: ‘Merci Emi, forever yellow and green.’
After joining Cardiff on Saturday, Sala’s sister Romina proudly shared the news story about his signing, saying: ‘Big brother :D’.
His father Horacio told Argentine channel C5N he was made aware of the news by a friend.
He said: ‘A friend called me and told me what had happened. I’m in Rosario now, I’m working because I’m a truck driver. I didn’t know anything. I just can’t believe it. I’m desperate. I don’t know what could have happened.’
He said striker Emiliano, from the small town of Progreso in Argentina’s northeastern Santa Fe province, had been excited to be moving to Cardiff and playing in the Premier League.
He added: ‘To get the chance to play at a big European club was an amazing step for him and for his town back home. He is a humble small town boy. Everybody is watching the TV and waiting. Hopefully some good news arrives.’
His mother, Mercedes Taffarel, told the same TV station: ‘We don’t have any more news. The only thing I know is that the plane took off and they are searching for it, we don’t know anything yet, they haven’t found anything.
‘We are just here waiting, minute after minute. I spoke to him a few hours before he took off. I don’t know what else to say, I’m so worried.
‘They called me from France to tell me that his plane had gone missing and they were looking for him.
‘We are in constant communication and desperate for good news. He was very happy and content with the transfer. He was enjoying the best moment of his career so far.
‘He would come over often to visit us, and we would go to visit him there. He was alone, he didn’t have any family members with him in France.’
The Premier League club had signed Sala on a three-and-a-half-year contact on Saturday.
Nantes have announced their French Cup match due to be staged tonight against L’Entente Sannois Saint-Gratien has been postponed in agreement with the French Football Federation.
Amine Harit, a Moroccan footballer who played with Sala at Nantes before joining German side FC Schalke in 2017, suggested he was praying for the missing player in a tweet.
He wrote simply ‘Emi..’ followed by a string of praying hands and crying emojis.
Nantes forward Randal Kolo-Muani retweeted Harit’s message on his personal account.
Sala is immensely close to his family in Argentina, and spoke to his mother who still lives there ‘most days’, but still believed his destiny was in Britain.
‘He’s in touch with his family all the time, mainly on WhatsApp,’ said the Brittany-based source.
‘His mum often visits, along with his brother and sister. He’s very loyal to them all, as he is to everybody.
‘The English Premiership was his dream, though. Emiliano is also very religious.
‘He prays a lot. His Catholic faith is very important to him.’
Speaking on TV channel CNEWS, Nantes President Waldemar Kita said today: ‘I think that he came back because he wanted to say goodbye to his friends.
‘He was a polite, kind and adorable boy, loved by everyone. He was very respectful, very courteous.
‘I am thinking about his family and all his friends. For the rest, we don’t know yet.
‘I am still hoping that it is not finished, that he is somewhere, that he will be there. I have just found about this.
‘I was not even aware that he was at Nantes. He is no longer owned by Nantes, he does what he wants.
‘And I say that because I am still hopeful that we will find him.’
The official Nantes FC Twitter account posted a statement and a message to their followers about the missing striker before changing its profile picture to a photo of him
Sala regularly entertained fans with social media posts from his training sessions, and enjoying time off with his teammates
Emiliano Sala with his sister Romina Sala, brother Dario Sala, and mother Mercedes Taffarel
Sala with his brother and sister. His family remain in Argentina, desperately awaiting updates
Sala was grew up in Progeso, an Argentine town with only 3000 inhabitants in Santa Fe province, in the centre east of the country.
‘As a kid, I watched a lot of the English championship on TV,’ he said in a recent interview in France.
Referring to two retired French players, Sala said: ‘I liked Arsenal, with Thierry Henry and Robert Pires.’
Sala has a younger brother, an electrician, and a sister, who is a care worker, both in Argentina.
Sala posted this picture on Instagram two days ago – one day after he signed his new deal – alongside the caption, ‘There is a new Sala in town @premierleague. Very happy to sign here @cardiffcityfc !! I know the challenge is big but together we will make it. Impatient to discover the league & the team #BlueBirds’
Sala had celebrated his 28th birthday in October last year, and posted this photo on Twitter alongside his mother, thanking people for their messages
He left home when he was 15 to become a professional footballer, but is immensely loyal to his roots.
Sala could have been set to make his debut at the Emirates against Arsenal on January 29.
Speaking on Saturday after signing for the Bluebirds, Sala said: ‘I can’t wait to start training, meet my new team-mates and get down to work.’
Also, speaking at the time of the unveiling, CEO & Executive Director, Ken Choo, added: ‘It’s obviously been a long process to secure the services of Emiliano, but I’m very pleased that we’re now in a position whereby we can confirm his signature and officially announce him as a Cardiff City player.
‘We see Emiliano as a significant acquisition and welcome him wholeheartedly to the Capital city of Wales. I’m sure all Cardiff City fans will join me in that and we can look forward to seeing our record signing in a Bluebirds shirt.’
Before switching to Cardiff, Sala was the third highest scorer in Ligue 1 this season with 12 goals, behind only Kylian Mbappe and Nicolas Pepe.
A Piper FA-46 Malibu light aircraft similar to the plane Sala described as sounding like it was ‘falling to pieces’ last night
Sala left Nantes to travel to Cardiff last night. The 28-year-old (pictured left and right in 2014), could have been set to make his debut at the Emirates against Arsenal on January 29
Emiliano Sala and Paris Saint-Germain forward, Kylian M’bappe are pictured during a game in the French Ligue 1
He said at the time: ‘For me it feels special [to be the Club’s record signing]. I have come here wanting to work and to help my teammates and the Club. I can’t wait to get to work straight away and do everything I can.’
Speaking earlier today, Mr Fitzgerald said the plane could have glided for around five or six miles without a working engine.
‘I am sure something will be found eventually. The plane was flying at 2,000ft when it dropped off the radar so it could have flown for about five or six miles before touching down.
‘But whether it was a controlled ditching or if it dived in, we just do not know.
‘If it was a controlled ditching, you would expect to find a life-raft but if it was uncontrolled I expect an oil slick and wreckage may be found.’
No decision on which country will investigate the disappearance of the aircraft carrying footballer Emiliano Sala has been announced.
Under global aviation guidelines, initial responsibility for an accident lies with the state where it occurred.
If a crash happens in international waters then the country where an aircraft is registered takes the primary role.
However, states often delegate responsibility if an accident happens far from their territory.
That means the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) is likely to have some role in the inquiry into what happened to the aircraft which went missing over the Channel. An AAIB spokesman said: ‘We are liaising with the relevant authorities.’
Cardiff signed the forward in a deal reportedly worth in the region of £15million, breaking the previous record of £11million paid for Gary Medel in 2013. Sala is pictured here signing his contract on Saturday
The lighthouse on the Casquets rocks, off the coast of Alderney in the Channel Islands
Sala regularly posts photographs of his family on social media, including this one with his mother (left), which he captioned ‘Thank you, mum’. He is pictured with his mother, right, and his electrician brother and sister, who works in a care home
The plane lost contact near the Casquets lighthouse off the coast of Alderney
The striker often posted photos and videos with his beloved pet dog on his social media accounts
Not just talented on the pitch, Sala also showed off his musical ability as he posed with his guitar
Sala (far right) poses on the beach with his friends as he soaks up the rays in September 2018
Last year, Leicester City’s billionaire owner and four others were killed in a helicopter crash outside the club’s grounds.
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s aircraft was seen spiralling through the sky and into the ground shortly after taking off from the King Power Stadium last October.
Pilot Eric Swaffer and his co-pilot Izabela Lechowicz, who was also his girlfriend, prevented greater loss of life by steering the doomed craft away from crowds of fans.
They died alongside Kaveporn Punpare, an assistant to Mr Srivaddhanaprabha and his colleague Nusara Suknamai, a former beauty queen who worked for the billionaire.