Plane with football star Emiliano Sala disappeared

A small plane with the Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala on board has disappeared on Monday evening on the flight from Nantes to Cardiff about 20 kilometers north of the Channel Island Guernsey.

This was announced by the local police on Tuesday. The machine probably crashed into the English Channel.

The pilot had requested, according to police at the flight control on the neighboring island of Jersey to be allowed to reduce the altitude. Then the contact to the tower broke off.

A several-hour search operation in the night was broken off without result due to strong winds, rough seas and poor visibility, but resumed on Tuesday morning with helicopters of the British and French Coast Guard.

That Emiliano Sala was in the machine, the French authorities confirmed. The chances of surviving the two inmates are extremely low, the water temperature in the channel is currently only about ten degrees.