A search for missing Cardiff City footballer Emiliano Sala is said to have resumed after it was funded by private donations.

A money-raising effort for the resumption of the search quickly passed £100,000 within hours of being launched on Friday, enabling boats to head back out to the Channel.

Within 48 hours, donations had reached £278,630.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch is investigating after the light aircraft taking Sala from Nantes to Wales disappeared from radar on Monday night.

The official search operation for the Piper Malibu carrying both the Argentine striker and pilot David Ibbotson was called off on Thursday.

Emiliano Sala: Career in pictures Show all 12 1 /12 Emiliano Sala: Career in pictures Emiliano Sala: Career in pictures Emiliano Sala Cardiff City striker Emiliano Sala is missing and feared dead after an aeroplane carrying him and one other person went missing over the English Channel AFP/Getty Emiliano Sala: Career in pictures Emiliano Sala He first moved to France in 2011 before joining Bordeaux and making his debut in 2012 Getty Emiliano Sala: Career in pictures Emiliano Sala Sala arrived at Bordeaux after playing for Club Proyecto Crecer in Argentina Getty Emiliano Sala: Career in pictures Emiliano Sala In Ligue 1, Sala found himself going up against some of the best-known defenders such as PSG’s David Luiz Getty Emiliano Sala: Career in pictures Emiliano Sala He would join Caen on loan in 2015 Getty Emiliano Sala: Career in pictures Emiliano Sala While with Bordeaux, Sala also spent time on loan with US Orleans and Chamois Niort Getty Emiliano Sala: Career in pictures Emiliano Sala In 2015, Sala secured a move to Ligue 1 side Nantes EPA Emiliano Sala: Career in pictures Emiliano Sala Sala played 130 times for Nantes, scoring 48 goals in all competitions AFP/Getty Emiliano Sala: Career in pictures Emiliano Sala His form in France saw him catch the eye of a number of clubs around Europe AFP Emiliano Sala: Career in pictures Emiliano Sala Sala was the fifth-highest goalscorer in Ligue 1 this season with 12 goals in 19 games Getty Emiliano Sala: Career in pictures Emiliano Sala Sala agreed to join Cardiff in a club-record £15m deal on Saturday 19 January Cardiff City Emiliano Sala: Career in pictures Emiliano Sala Sala’s flight to Cardiff went missing on Monday 21 January and is believed to have crashed into the English Channel Getty

Pleas for the search to resume came from the 28-year-old player’s family, Argentinian football stars Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona and Sergio Aguero, and the country’s president, Mauricio Macri.

Mr Macri told his foreign minister to issue formal requests to Britain and France for search efforts to be resumed, according to a statement from his office.

The GoFundMe page posted an update yesterday saying: “The call for funds launched late Friday afternoon allowed the relatives of Emiliano Sala, via a specialized organization, resume research in the Channel early Saturday morning. Two boats conduct the operations.”

Footballers including Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan donated to the effort.

Cardiff City had also told the authorities they wanted the search to be restarted.

They had signed Sala for a club record £15m to bolster their attack, and he had been due to start training within days.

Guernsey’s harbour master Captain David Barker said the decision to stop actively searching had been a difficult one, but the chances of survival after such a long period were extremely remote.

The Sala family were planning a private search with hired divers, according to Argentinian media.

Mr Ibbotson, 59, of Crowle, Lincolnshire, held a private pilot’s licence and passed a medical exam as recently as November, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.

The Civil Aviation Authority said the aircraft was registered in the US so fell under American regulations.

The flight left Nantes in France for Cardiff at 7.15pm on Monday, and after requesting to descend, lost contact with Jersey air-traffic control over the English Channel.

Rescue teams scanned 1,700 square miles and examined mobile phone data and satellite imagery but found no trace of the aircraft.

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Sala’s sister, Romina, said: “We really are thankful for the support of all the players in the way they have said that we should not stop our efforts.

“We will find a way to restart the search. We will find Emiliano and the pilot.

“He is a fighter and we feel he is still out there.”