LONDON • Relatives of missing Premier League player Emiliano Sala on Saturday began a privately funded search for his plane, which disappeared over the English Channel, after local coast guard called off their own rescue mission.
The news was announced by an online fundraising campaign for the operation, and confirmed to Agence France-Presse by Maria Jose Sottini, a friend of the Argentinian striker's family.
"The appeal launched late Friday afternoon enabled Emiliano Sala's relatives, via a specialised organisation, to resume research in the Channel early this Saturday morning," said a statement on the GoFundMe website.
"Two boats are leading the operations."
Around 4,000 people have so far contributed to the campaign, which was organised by Sala's agency, Sport Cover, raising almost €321,343 (S$496,167).
The target of €300,000 was reached within a day.
According to the BBC, fellow footballers including Ilkay Gundogan from Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain's Adrien Rabiot and Corentin Tolisso of Bayern Munich have donated to the fund, as did Sala's former manager at Nantes, Vahid Halilhodzic.
A light aircraft transporting Sala, who signed for Cardiff City two Saturdays ago, vanished from the radar around 20km north of the Channel island of Guernsey last Monday night.
The 28-year-old, who moved from French Ligue 1 club Nantes for a club-record fee of £15 million (S$26.7 million), had been flying to the Welsh capital for his first training session after saying goodbye to his former teammates.
Rescue workers formally called off the search for the missing plane on Thursday.
As investigators probe what happened, it emerged that while his football agent Willie McKay had arranged for the ill-fated flight, he did not choose the Piper Malibu plane or its pilot, who has since been named as David Ibbotson.
"We had no involvement in selecting a plane or a pilot and wish to make clear we do not own the plane that Emiliano flew on," the Briton said in a statement.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Emiliano Sala's family have launched a private search for the footballer and the pilot of the missing plane in the hope that they might still be alive. The search for the missing plane was called off last week after days of searching with no trace of the plane or its occupants.
Family launch private search for missing footballer Emiliano
Relatives raise funds to continue search for missing footballer Emiliano Sala Tributes left outside Cardiff City Stadium for Emiliano Sala, whose plane disappeared from the radar over the English
Emiliano Sala: missing pilot's family raise funds for search
Feb 09, 2019 · The family of the missing pilot of the plane carrying the footballer Emiliano Sala have set up a fundraising page for donations to help restart a search for him. Sala's body was recovered from
Emiliano Sala's family says search for missing pilot must
The search for missing Cardiff City footballer Emiliano Sala and pilot Dave Ibbotson has restarted after a GoFundMe campaign reached and passed its €300,000 goal. The crowdfunding campaign was
Messi urges search for Emiliano Sala to continue - SABC News
Relatives raise funds to continue search for missing
Meanwhile, relatives of missing Premier League player Emiliano Sala on Saturday began a private search for his plane, which disappeared over the Channel, after local police called off their own rescue mission. The news was announced by an online fund-raising campaign for the operation and confirmed by a friend of the Argentine striker's family.
Emiliano Sala campaign raises £130,000 to fund private search
Family launch private search for missing footballer Emiliano Sala "The fund-raising appeal launched late Friday afternoon enabled Emiliano Sala's relatives, via a specialised organisation, to
Emiliano Sala campaign raises £130,000 to fund private search
A host of big-name footballers are behind a campaign to raise money for a private search for missing footballer Emiliano Sala The campaign has raised £130,000 from almost 2,000 people in just a
A host of big-name footballers are behind a campaign to raise money for a private search for missing footballer Emiliano Sala. The campaign has raised £130,000 from almost 2,000 people in just a
New search begins for missing footballer Emiliano Sala
Feb 08, 2019 · The family of the footballer Emiliano Sala has called for the authorities to continue to search for missing pilot David Ibbotson as the world of football came to terms with the confirmation of the
Search For Emiliano Sala Continues As Friends And Family
A remarkable display of hope and empathy from Sport Cover, the agency representing Emiliano Sala, has seen the company raise sufficient funds to continue the search for the Argentinian footballer
Emiliano Sala missing: Search for Cardiff City footballer
No comments:
Post a Comment