Shock as plane disappears with Cardiff record signing on board

A plane has disappeared with Cardiff City new signing Emiliano Sala on board [Courtesy]

A light plane with Cardiff City new signing Emiliano Sala is said to have disappeared off the radar while travelling from France to the Welsh Capital.

"The plane set off from Nantes-Atlantique airport towards 8 pm on Monday. There were two passengers on board, and it was heading for Cardiff, but never arrived. Two helicopters are searching for the Piper,” said a source.

Air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane at 8:30 pm while it got close to the Casquets lighthouse on Alderney, Channel Islands.

Emiliano Sala [Courtesy]

Cardiff City chairman Mehmet Dalman expressed concerns over Sala’s safety.

“We are very concerned by the latest news that a light aircraft lost contact over the Channel last night. We are awaiting confirmation before we can say anything further. We are very concerned for the safety of Emiliano Sala,” said Dalman.

The plane set off from Nantes-Atlantique airport towards 8 pm on Monday [Courtesy]

Emiliano Sala last week completed a 15 million euro move to Cardiff from French outfit Nantes – a record amount ever spent by the club on a single player.

Search operations for the lost plane are underway.