Your soul will shine forever
Tributes after recovered body is confirmed as football star Sala
THE devastated sister of soccer star Emiliano Sala said his ‘soul will shine forever’ after it was confirmed he died in a plane crash in the English Channel.
Police announced last night that a body recovered from the light aircraft wreckage on the seabed off the coast of France is that of the 28-year-old Argentinian striker.
Following the announcement, Sala’s sister Romina posted a picture of him on Instagram, with the poignant message: ‘Your soul in my soul, it will shine forever, illuminating my existence. I love you, Tito.’
The family later released a statement thanking the public for their support at what they described as ‘the most painful time of our lives’.
The statement continued: ‘Seeing the whole world mobilised to support us in our research has been an infinitely precious help. Thanks to you, we are now able to mourn our son, our brother.
‘On this Friday morning, our thoughts go to [pilot] David Ibbotson and his family, hoping that the authorities will do their best to find him.’
The Sala family and relatives of Mr Ibbotson had been nervously awaiting news after just one body was pulled from the crashed Piper Malibu plane on Wednesday.
After it was confirmed that the body was that of Mr Sala, an expert said he fears Mr Ibbotson’s remains may never be recovered because they were not in the wreckage still at the bottom of the seabed.
Stars of world soccer posted tributes to Sala online in the wake of the announcement.
Argentina legend Diego Maradona posted a tribute on Instagram. He told of how many had kept a ‘light of hope’ for the footballer, adding: ‘I send a big hug to your family and friends.’
Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero, also a fellow Argentine, added: ‘Terribly sad. Rest in peace, Emiliano. My condolences to his friends and family.’
Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil said: ‘No words to describe how sad this is. Thoughts and prayers go out to his family and also to the family of the pilot.’
Former Manchester United star Wayne Rooney added his voice to the tributes, tweeting a black and white picture of Sala with the message: ‘Rest in peace. Thoughts are with friends and family.’
When the plane went down, Sala had been flying over to start a new life in the UK after making a €17million move to Cardiff FC from Nantes in France.
Cardiff released a statement on their website which read: ‘We offer our most heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the family of Emiliano. He and David will forever remain in our thoughts.’
The aircraft remains 67 metres underwater, 34km off the coast of Guernsey in the English Channel, as poor weather conditions stopped efforts to recover it.
An official search for the plane was launched after it disappeared, but was called off after four days as it was deemed unlikely the men could have survived.
A private search was launched for the plane and the men. Hours after the Ocean Geo III was launched, its sonar radars picked up the plane on a seabed.
Robotic submarines were used to assess it and film the inside, and one body was brought to the surface yesterday.
Friends and relatives of the pilot’s wife Nora said she was ‘beside herself’ waiting to hear whether or not Mr Ibbotson had been found.
Many had kept a ‘light of hope’