#Privately funded search for missing plane of footballer Emiliano Sala begins - CNN

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Privately funded search for missing plane of footballer Emiliano Sala begins

The search team is led by marine scientist David Mearns — who claims to have located 24 shipwrecks in his career — working on behalf of the Sala family.

The group is also working in close coordination with the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), which on Sunday began a three-day underwater search of an area four square nautical miles off the island of Guernsey.

Sala, 28, and pilot David Ibbotson, 59, were flying in a single turbine Piper Malibu plane from Nantes, in northern France, to Cardiff, in Wales, when it disappeared from radar just near the Channel Islands on January 21.

Star striker Sala had recently signed with English Premier League club Cardiff City for a reported £15 million ($19.3 million) from French club Nantes. He was headed to his new club after saying farewell to his former teammates in France.

The official search operation was called off on January 24 after Guernsey’s harbour master, Captain David Barker, said “the chances of survival at this stage are extremely remote.”

The decision prompted tearful pleas from Sala’s family who urged officials to “use all means possible” to find out what happened to the plane that had requested descent on passing Guernsey, but disappeared from radar at about 2,300 feet.

A few days later, seat cushions believed to be from the missing plane were found on a beach near Surtainville, on the northwest coast of France.

The private search mission was financed through a crowdfunding campaign. Among those donating were French World Cup star Kylian Mbappe, who contributed $34,000.

Marine Scientist Mearns, the director of deep-sea operation company Blue Water Recoveries, will be leading a team of seven on board the vessel FPV Morven.

Last week players and fans in Nantes paid tribute to the missing footballer in an emotional match against Saint-Etienne that reduced Nantes manager Vahid Halilhodzic to tears.

Play was briefly halted in the ninth minute — Sala’s squad number — and many in the stands waved Argentina flags.

[princeashy]

Privately funded search for missing plane of footballer Emiliano Sala begins – CNN Privately funded search for missing plane of footballer Emiliano Sala begins CNN Premier League news: Sala would have been proud of Cardiff City's performance against Bournemouth, says Neil Warnock…