Emiliano Sala’s ex issues desperate plea as search for Cardiff City striker RESUMES
THE EX-GIRLFRIEND of missing Emiliano Sala has pleaded with people not to give up hope of finding the Cardiff City striker alive.
Posted Monday, January 28, 2019 by Dailystar.co.uk
Emiliano Sala, 28, was on a plane flying from Nantes to Cardiff to join his new teammates for his first training session on Monday night.
But the plane lost contact with air traffic control over the Channel Islands and has been missing ever since.
Today, the search for Sala and pilot Dave Ibbotson restarted after a GoFundMe campaign supported by Premier League stars Laurent Koscielny and Ilkay Gundogan raised nearly £260,000.
And now Sala’s ex-girlfriend, Berenice Schkair, has issued a plea for people not to give up hope.
EX: Sala's former girlfriend Berenice Schkaira has insisted searchers must not give up hope (Pic: Instagram)
The 27-year-old Victoria Secrets model wrote on Instagram: “There are a lot of possibilities please don’t stop searching.
“Emiliano Sala and the pilot must be found, continue the search of the plane.
“His family and friends are waiting for him.
“We hope to find them.”
DESPAIR: Sala went missing ahead of his move to Cardiff City (Pic: PA)
MISSING: It is believed the plane Emiliano Sala was in plunged into the Channel (Pic: PA)
HEARTBROKEN: The pair dates for a couple of months (Pic: Instagram)
Despite the striker's sister Romina and his former club Nantes along with a whole host of huge names including Lionel Messi urging officials not to stop the search for the Piper PA-46 Malibu aircraft, it was called off on Thursday.
Police said they were confident they had done everything they could to find Sala and pilot Ibbotson, 60, and a former Guernsey harbourmaster said the search was “like looking for a needle in a haystack, when you don't even know where the haystack is.”
But Sport Cover, Sala's agency, confirmed this morning that two Guernsey based fishing vessels are working in the area where the plane last had radar contact.
The search campaign target was broken today with the help of a £26,000 donation from French World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe.
LOVE: Berenice Schkair dated Sala before his move to Cardiff (Pic: Instagram)
MISSING: Pilot David Ibbotson (Pic: PA)
PICTURED: The plane that pilot David Ibbetson attempted to cross the Channel in (Pic: PA)
Several Argentinian footballers including Lionel Messi and new Chelsea signing Gonzalo Higuain had previously campaigned on social media for a resumption of the operation.
On Friday night Arsenal and Man United players, among others, sported black arm bands and took part in a moment of applause for the footballer but it has emerged that his family had requested for Everton and Millwall players not to wear them in the evening kick-off yesterday as he had not been confirmed dead.
The plane went down on Monday night over the English Channel, which has been suffering from an Arctic blast blown over from Europe.
Rescue teams scanned around 1,700 square miles and examined mobile phone data and satellite imagery but found no trace of the aircraft, which disappeared from radar on Monday evening.
RESPECT: Manchester City players take part in a minute of silence for Emiliano Sala (Pic: Getty)
SEARCH: Guernsey Police called-off rescue efforts on Thursday (Pic: Getty)
TRAGIC: Supporters of FC Nantes gather to pay tribute to Emiliano Sala (Pic: PA)
Guernsey's harbour master Captain David Barker said when he confirmed the “difficult” decision to call of the search that the chances of survival were “extremely remote”.
He has acknowledged Sala's family were “not content” with the decision but said he was “absolutely confident” no more could have been done.
A haunting message from the Argentinian striker on WhatsApp revealed he was worried about the condition of the Piper PA-46 Malibu plane before take-off.
Reports have also claimed the plane failed to take-off three times before eventually leaving Nantes.
Berenice, a model from Argentina, called for the search to be continued until the striker is found.
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