New Cardiff City footballer Emiliano Sala was on board a plane that went missing over the English Channel on Monday night.

The striker, who is 28, was announced as a new signing for the Premier League club on Saturday. He had been in Cardiff for a medical and had returned to Nantes in France, where he played before signing for Cardiff. He was due back in Wales on Monday night but did not arrive.

On Tuesday morning, it was confirmed that he was on the light aircraft that disappeared from radar while flying from Nantes to Cardiff.

Officials have said that there were two people on board at the time. You can follow our live coverage of the incident here.

The search was called off at 5pm on Tueday.

What we know so far

The Argentine was back in France saying his goodbyes to team-mates after completing a medical in Cardiff this week. He was due in the Welsh capital on Monday night and was expected to train with his new team-mates on Tuesday morning.

(Image: Pic: Emiliano Sala/Instagram)

Yesterday, he posted a farewell picture on his Instagram page, arm-in-arm with his former colleagues with the caption "La ultima ❤ Ciao @FCNantes"

What happened

The plane he was on left Nantes at 7.15pm on Monday. It was destined for Cardiff.

Guernsey Coastguard received an alert at 8.23pm on Monday from Jersey Air Traffic Control, that a light aircraft had gone off their radar approximately 15 miles north of Guernsey.

There had been a request for permission to descend from the pilot but air traffic control then lost contact.

(Image: Adam Walker)

Channel Islands Air Search chief officer John Fitzgerald told The Associated Press the plane "just completely vanished".

The aircraft was flying at 5,000 feet. The aircraft on passing Guernsey requested descent. Jersey ATC lost contact whilst it was flying at 2,300 feet.

The French civil aviation authority confirmed Sala was on board.

The search operation

A major search and rescue operation involving lifeboats and two coastguard helicopters was launched on Monday night.

The search went on for hours but ended at 2am because of strengthening winds, worsening sea conditions and reducing visibility.

They were out again at 8am on Tuesday morning with two planes and one lifeboat searching.

By 3.30pm on Tuesday, 1,155 square miles of the English Channel had been searched.

The search was called off at 5pm on Tueday.

Guernsey Police said: "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."

Shortly afterwards, they said: "Search and rescue operations have been suspended as the sun has now set. The current plan is for it to resume at sunrise tomorrow. There will be no further updates tonight."

(Image: Guernsey Police)

John Fitzgerald, Channel Islands Air Search chief officer, told WalesOnline that it was getting "more and more unlikely" that survivors will be found.

He said: "The water temperature is extremely cold at this time of year. The area is very tidal and moves very quickly so the [search] area has been widened. Conditions are quite good as it is overcast, which helps because there is no glare off the water."

Mr Fitzgerald added: "There was about 15 to 20 miles visibility so we could see quite a lot during the first search but the lifeboats found it quite difficult.

"That area is always quite rough but from 1,000 feet, we can see straight down. It was not that bad but at about 2 or 3 am wintry showers set in and the search was postponed. We went out again at 8am."

(Image: Guernsey Press)

Mr Fitzgerald said the plane could have glided for around five or six miles without a working engine.

He added: "I am sure something will be found eventually. The plane was flying at 2,000ft when it dropped off the radar so it could have flown for about five or six miles before touching down.

"But whether it was a controlled ditching or if it dived in, we just do not know. If it was a controlled ditching, you would expect to find a life-raft but if it was uncontrolled I expect an oil slick and wreckage may be found.”

What type of plane was it?

The Piper PA-46 Malibu is a single engine plane with capacity for one pilot and five passengers, according to the Aerospace Technology website.

The specialist site describes the PA-46 as a "light sport aircraft" which entered service in 1982.

(Image: Creative Commons)

The aircraft is said to have four variants which include the PA-46-310P Malibu, PA-46-350P Malibu Mirage, PA-46-500TP Malibu Meridian and PA-46R-350T Matrix.

The website says the aircraft can operate on short or unpaved runways, even in the worst weather conditions.

What Cardiff City have said

This morning, the club issued a statement saying they were very concerned about the safety of their new signing.

Chairman Mehmet Dalman said: "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.”

(Image: Getty Images)

A second club statement was issued on Tuesday afternoon.

The club's chief executive Ken Choo said: "We were very shocked upon hearing the news that the plane had gone missing. We expected Emiliano to arrive last night into Cardiff and today was due to be his first day with the team.

"Our owner, Tan Sri Vincent Tan, and chairman, Mehmet Dalman, are all very distressed about the situation.

"We made the decision first thing this morning to call off training with the thoughts of the squad, management staff and the entire club with Emiliano and the pilot.

"All of us at Cardiff City FC would like to thank our fans, and the entire footballing family for their support at this difficult time.

"We continue to pray for positive news."

He said later: "He’s such a great person. He was so happy to join Cardiff City. You can see from [his] face that he’s so, so happy to be here, and so ready to start. Words cannot describe the look on his face.

“When he met us and we walked him around the grounds, he was absolutely ready to give it a go. And we knew him then, and we really feel sad.”

Nantes’ game against Entente SSG, due to be played on Wednesday, has been postponed.

The French club's president Waldermar Kita issued an emotional statement, describing him as "a nice boy, polite and loved by everyone". You can read that in full here.

Emiliano Sala was Cardiff's record-breaking signing

The Argentinian footballer signed for a record breaking £15 million only last weekend.

Cardiff officially unveiled Sala on a three-and-a-half year deal at 7pm on Saturday, a much-needed boost at the time for the fans.

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

It had been revealed that Sala had rejected an 11th hour bid from China to lure him away from the Bluebirds.

Sala has played mainly in France for Bordeaux, Orleans, Niort and Caen.

He underwent his medical in Cardiff last Friday.