The wreckage of the plane that was
carrying footballer Emiliano Sala has been found at the bottom of the
English Channel following a crowd-funded sonar search two weeks after it
vanished leaving the Argentine striker and his pilot missing feared dead.
According to the Daily Mail of UK, the father of the
footballer, Horacio is grieving. ‘I cannot believe it … this is a dream … a
bad dream … I’m desperate,’, he quoted to have said from his home in the town
of Progreso.
There was no news this morning on whether the remains of
Sala and pilot David Ibbotson had been found in the wreckage.
The specialist search for the missing plane began off the
coast of Guernsey on Sunday morning and located the wreckage on the seabed just
hours later.
Sala and pilot Ibbotson left Nantes in France for Cardiff
on January 21 – after the star signed for the Welsh Premier League team,
disappearing over the Channel.
The official search was called off after four days but
Sala’s friends, family and fans clubbed together to pay for a private search to
continue with renowned shipwreck hunter David Mearns.
On Sunday morning, their efforts paid off.
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Geo Ocean III left Ostend in Belgium at 9am and began
combing the area. Within hours it was search vessel FPV Morven which picked up
a sonar signal from the depths.
The wreckage of the Piper Malibu was formally
identified by officials from the Air Accident Investigation Board.
The AAIB’s vessel deployed a remote-controlled submarine
to examine the plane and tonight confirmed it was the craft carrying the
striker.
Families of both men have been informed of the
discovery.
Sala’s father said last night he had not had any
contact with the rest of his family – who are still in a hotel in Nantes –
and found out about the plane’s discovery on TV.
‘I communicated with them every day, but since I do not
have Whatsapp it’s hard to call them or call me. They told me that the days
passed and there was no news of Emiliano or the plane,’ said Horacio.
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He said that the family are in the hotel along with
‘eight or nine’ friends who are believed to have received the news
from Argentine embassies in France and England, at 9am.
Both the AAIB’s Geo Ocean III vessel and a private
boat, which includes a side-scan sonar, were used to try and find the
aircraft.
Teams from the AAIB have now moved into location at the
site to recover the aircraft.
The vessel that made the discovery was lead by marine
scientist David Mearns, who confirmed the identity and location of the
plane.
He confirmed that it was in the early stages of this
morning’s search, around 9am, the discovery was made.
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‘But tonight they have heard devastating news and in
respect of the families I won’t comment any further about what has happened.’
The recovery vessel picked up something on the sonar 24
miles off Guernsey and made further passes over the area to pinpoint the
location before going through various stages of identification.
David Mearns called the news ‘devastating’ but told Sky
News that ‘at least we were able to bring some sort of answer to the
families.’
The discovery came just two days after cushions from a
plane were found on a beach near Surtainville in Normandy, France,
directly east of Guernsey where the plane disappeared from radar.
Emiliano Sala and pilot David Ibbotson disappeared when
their plane vanished as it passed near Alderney on 21 January during a flight
from Nantes to Cardiff.
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The AAIB said
its search was expected to last three days, while the private search will
continue ‘until the plane is located’, reported the BBC.
A four mile square area, based on the flight path before
the plane lost contact, was covered.
The official search after the plane’s disappearance was
called off after three days as officials didn’t believe there was much chance
of anyone having survived.
An online petition was then started which raised more
than £300,000 to put on a privately-funded search using a specialist survey
vessel.
More than 3,500 people had responded to the appeal for
funds and the target was broken with the help of a £26,000 donation from French
World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe.
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The boat, operated by global marine
cable installation firm A-2-Sea, is equipped with the latest technology.
It includes a multi-beam echosounder
and side-scan sonar, which can detect anomalies on the seabed.
David Mearns, who claims to have found 24 major
shipwrecks, led the group during the search.
He said that the boat,
called Morven, was brought from Southampton to Guernsey six hours
earlier than scheduled to take advantage of a break in the weather.
Mr Mearns said both vessels would
divide the search area looking for ‘wreckage’ and a ‘debris field’ in a depth
of 60-120m (196-390ft).
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Members of Mr Sala’s family and friends
arrived in Guernsey last Saturday and several members of the group were later
taken to the small island of Burhou.
The islet was the focus of social media attention on the
night of the disappearance after members of the public shared a picture which
appeared to show flares coming from the island.
However, John Fitzgerald, the director
of Channel Islands Air Search, said the island and its surrounding area had
been searched many times.
He added: ‘It is really a puffin reserve.
It is tiny but you can land on it,’ he said. ‘The plane and helicopters have
been over many times since [the night the plane vanished], but they haven’t
seen anything in that area.
‘It is only a few hundred metres long
and it has been saturated by helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
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‘The flares I have seen pictures of are
most likely aircraft trails.’
Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing.
He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.
Lionel Messi will play his last game for Paris St Germain against Clermont on Saturday, coach Christophe Galtier said on Thursday as he called on fans to give the Argentine forward a warm send-off at the Parc des Princes.
Messi, who has 21 goals and 20 assists for PSG in all competitions this season, moved to the French capital from Barcelona in 2021 on a two-year contract.
The 35-year-old, who led Argentina to the World Cup title in Qatar and also boasts a record seven Ballon d’Or awards, won the Ligue 1 title in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons with PSG as well as the French Super Cup in July 2022.
“I had the privilege of coaching the best player in the history of football. This will be his last match at the Parc des Princes, and I hope that he will receive the warmest of welcomes,” Galtier told reporters on Thursday.
Last month, French media reported that Messi was suspended for two weeks after an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia when he was supposed to train with his team following their 3-1 defeat at home to Lorient in the league.
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“This year, he has been an important part of the team, always available. I don’t think any of the comments or criticisms are justified,” Galtier said.
“He’s always been there for the team. It’s been a great privilege to accompany him throughout the season.”
Messi’s future at PSG had been the subject of much speculation recently, with a source close to the Argentina captain telling Reuters that he had received a formal offer to join Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal next season.
He has also been linked in the media with a move back to boyhood club Barcelona, with the United States’ Major League Soccer club Inter Miami also being touted as a possible destination.
PSG’S TITLE CELEBRATIONS ON HOLD
Messi’s last game for PSG is unlikely to be a joyous affair, with Galtier saying that their title celebrations would be put on ice with the distraught squad’s thoughts occupied with concern for goalkeeper Sergio Rico.
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Rico was involved in a riding accident while participating in an annual pilgrimage in southern Spain, the day after PSG wrapped up the title with one game to spare after a 1-1 draw at Racing Strasbourg.
Rico has been in intensive care after suffering “a serious mishap due to a mule cart and a horse that hit him”, his family said in a statement late on Sunday. Spanish paper Marca reported that Rico had been riding a horse himself.
“There will be no celebrations, it’s been a very difficult week. We’re all affected because we went from winning the French title on Saturday to waking up in more than a little pain on Sunday morning,” Galtier told reporters ahead of PSG’s final league game of the season.
“We’re all affected, and we’re trying as best we can to take our minds off things through the training sessions… We’re very united in sending out lots of positive vibes and energy to Sergio, his mum, his wife and his loved ones.”
Messi walks out on PSG fans after defeat Kunle Solaja
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Paris St Germain were lucky enough to enjoy the continued support of their fans during their 2-0 home defeat against Stade Rennais on Sunday – their first at home in Ligue 1 this season, but only a few players went to the Auteuil kop to greet them after a dismal display.
Kylian Mbappe was one of them after the France forward was denied twice by Rennes keeper Steve Mandanda, but Lionel Messi, who looked nothing like the player who inspired Argentina to the World Cup title last December, walked straight to the dressing room, as did the disappointing Marco Verratti.
PSG lead the standings on 66 points from 28 games with a seven-point advantage over Olympique de Marseille, who ended Stade de Reims’s 19-game unbeaten streak in the league with a 2-1 away win courtesy of an Alexis Sanchez double.
Neymar to leave hospital on Sunday after operation Kunle Solaja
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Brazil star Neymar will leave a Qatar sports hospital on Sunday to rest before starting rehabilitation after an operation on his ankle, officials said.
Doctors at the Aspetar hospital would not give a date when the 31-year-old Paris Saint-Germain striker would return to action but they are confident that Friday’s surgery was a success.
PSG said before the operation the forward could be out for up to four months, ruling him out of the rest of this season.
“Neymar Junior was operated yesterday, it was very successful,” Mr Hakim Chalabi, assistant director-general at the Aspetar hospital and an adviser to PSG’s medical team, told AFP.
“Right now, he is very good and he is happy.
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“He is not so painful and the surgeons who operated are very happy.”
Neymar will leave the 50-bed specialist sports hospital on Sunday, officials said.
Mr Chalabi said that after a period of rest, PSG will start physiotherapy.
“Later on, we will evaluate a time for a return on the field. Right now it is a bit soon to talk about.
“He is going to be on crutches for a few days but then after he should be back to half weight lifting.”