SALA'S WRECKAGE
Emiliano Sala’s ‘plane wreckage’ pictured after seat washes up on beach
EMILIANO Sala's 'plane wreckage' has been pictured tonight after a seat believed to be from the doomed flight washed up on a French beach.
Two seat cushions were discovered on the coast of Surtainville, northwestern France - over a week after the Cardiff City star's plane vanished over the Channel.
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The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said the cushions are likely to have been from the Piper Malibu plane which vanished last Monday.
Cardiff City striker Sala and British pilot Dave Ibbotson, from Scunthorpe, are missing and presumed dead.
The discovery was made by French investigators on a beach near Surtainville on the French coast.
An underwater search is now set to take place as investigators look to recover the aircraft wreckage.
An AAIB spokesman said: "On the morning of Monday 28 January, we were advised by the Bureau d’Enquêtes & d’Analyses (BEA), the French safety investigation authority, that part of a seat cushion had been found on a beach near Surainville on the Cotentin Peninsula.
"A second cushion was found in the same area later that day.
"From a preliminary examination we have concluded that it is likely that the cushions are from the missing aircraft.
"We have now identified a priority underwater search area of approximately four square nautical miles."
UNDERWATER SEARCH WILL START THIS WEEKEND
The fresh search is set to start this weekend due to difficult weather conditions expected over the coming days.
Investigators expect the underwater trawl to last three days.
The cushions are first wreckage to be found from the missing plane following a huge search of the English Channel.
The Cardiff-bound plane disappeared after taking off from Nantes Airport in France at around 7.30pm last Monday.
The Argentinian striker was set to be unveiled as Cardiff City's club record signing the next day after completing a £15 million transfer from Nantes.
The aerial search for the plane and the missing men was ended by Guernsey Police last Thursday after three days of scouring the English Channel.
His ex-girlfriend Berenice Schkair, 26, begged investigators to keep looking, saying she believes he is 'alive' and 'living on an island somewhere'.
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Sala's family has since pledged to launch their own private search and received backing from football stars including Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain.
His sister Romina said earlier this week: "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."
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