The search and rescue operation that is attempting to find the missing plane that was carrying Emiliano Sala resumed on Wednesday, with Leganes forward Diego Rolan having revealed how the player reportedly contacted a friend prior to the disappearance.
Sala, Cardiff City’s £15 million ($19m) record signing , was travelling to Wales on Monday evening having said his goodbyes to his Nantes team-mates prior to linking up with his new club on Tuesday.
But the plane disappeared off radar off the coast of Guernsey in the English Channel between the UK and France, with efforts to find any trace of the aircraft having proved unsuccessful thus far .
Guernsey police confirmed on Wednesday morning that attempts to find the plane have now resumed and that a targeted area that “has the highest likelihood of finding anything” has been identified.
They tweeted: “We have resumed searching. Two planes are taking off and will search a targeted area we believe has the highest likelihood of finding anything, based on review of the tides and weather since it went missing.
“Coastal areas around Alderney and off-lying rocks and islands will also be searched from the air. Updates will be provided once information is available.”
This follows revelations from Leganes player and Uruguay international Rolan, who claims that Sala contacted a friend prior to the plane going missing, suggesting that the 28-year-old had predicted that he was going to be in difficulty.
“I’ve had several private flights on that type of aircraft, you always have that fear, but no one ever expects that situation,” Rolan told Radio 1010 AM .
“I received a message that Emiliano had sent to one of his friends in Argentinaand I was very scared by everything that’s happened. I am in shock. Before he had left he predicted everything that happened and sent it to a friend who was also very scared.
“He told a friend that he was very scared about the plane and that if they could not find it, they would already know what happened. What he predicted is what happened.”
Argentine publication Ole have released what they claim to be the audio WhatsApp messages sent by Sala, revealing the Cardiff striker’s concern with the plane and the conditions he was travelling in.
“Hello, little brothers, how are you crazy people? Brother, I’m really tired, I was here in Nantes doing things, things, things, things and things, and it never stops, it never stops, it never stops,” Sala reportedly said in a first recording.
“I’m here on a plane that looks like it’s about to fall apart, and I’m going to Cardiff, crazy, tomorrow we already start, and in the afternoon we start training, boys, in my new team.”
A later message, reportedly sent by Sala again, says: “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!”
Prior to suspending the search on Tuesday evening, Guernsey police released an update to suggest that the chances of finding survivors was now slim.
They wrote on Twitter: “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.”
Cardiff released a statement on Tuesday from club CEO Ken Choo, who said the club were “praying for positive news”, with Nantes also expressing their concern at the situation .
Supporters of Sala’s former club Nantes held a vigil in the city on Tuesday evening, gathering at the Place Royale to lay yellow tulips at the foot of the fountain as they prayed for positive news over the player’s disappearance.