A body recovered from the submerged wreckage of a plane that went down in the English Channel more than two weeks ago has been identified as that of soccer player Emiliano Sala, British police said on Thursday.
The light aircraft was carrying the 28-year-old soccer player from France to his new English Premier League team Cardiff City when it disappeared near the British island of Guernsey, along with 59-year-old pilot David Ibbotson.
Argentine soccer idols Diego Maradona and Gabriel Batistuta were among the first to pay tribute to the talented young player, who hailed from the South American nation.
The striker’s body was on Sunday spotted by British rescuers using a remotely operated underwater vehicle close to where the plane vanished from radar on Jan. 21.
His body was recovered on Wednesday and taken to the Isle of Portland in southern England for formal identification by coroners, who investigate deaths in Britain.
Sala’s disappearance sparked an outpouring of grief and a flood of cash to support a private hunt for the plane when the official search was initially called off.
“I am very sorry about this sad news. Many of us kept a glimmer of hope for you, Emiliano,” soccer superstar Maradona said on Instagram, after the identification of the body.
“What sadness, this is the worst news. Rest in peace warrior,” tweeted retired Argentine player Gabriel Batistuta.
Argentine President Mauricio Macri also offered his condolences to Sala’s family following the “painful news.”
“We are with you,” he said.
The small Argentine town of Progreso, where the soccer player grew up, was left “very affected.”
“Since we found out, it’s all anyone can talk about,” said local restaurant owner Oscar Heymo, a friend of Sala’s father, Horacio. “He was very much loved and admired by all.”
The initial search operations to trace the plane were suspended in the days after it went missing, but a shipwreck hunter hired by Emiliano Sala’s family with funds donated by soccer stars such as Lionel Messi found the wreckage.
The plane, a Piper PA-46 Malibu, vanished from radar about 20km north of Guernsey, with Ibbotson the only other person aboard.
Emiliano Sala had been flying in to join up with his new club Cardiff City in what was the most expensive signing in the Welsh club’s history.
His former club Nantes have consulted lawyers to explore legal options to ensure Cardiff pay the transfer fee for Sala, a source close to the French club revealed on Wednesday.
According to the source, the first installment of the 17 million euro (US$19.3 million) deal for the Argentine striker has yet to be paid, despite the transfer being finalized before the accident.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number