Funeral of footballer Emiliano Sala taking place in his hometown in Argentina

The funeral of footballer Emiliano Sala, who died when the plane he was in crashed in the English Channel, is due to take placed in his home town in Argentina.

The 28-year-old striker died in the crash on January 21, just days after he had signed for Cardiff City.

His body was pulled from the wreckage on February 7 following a privately-funded search which was launched after the initial search was called off three days after the men and their plane went missing.

Pilot David Ibbotson, 59, of Crowle, Lincolnshire, is still missing following the crash, and a fundraising campaign to restart the search for him has raised more than £240,000.

A funeral for Emiliano Sala was due to take place in Progreso in the Argentinian province of Santa Fe on Saturday, with Cardiff manager Neil Warnock and chief executive Ken Choo both expended to attend.

A public vigil, expected to last for several hours, was also due to be held in the gymnasium of the Sala’s boyhood club San Martin de Progreso.

The club posted an emotional tribute on Facebook earlier this week, saying Sala would be “eternally in our hearts”, adding: “We are waiting for you… like the first day you left but this time to stay with us forever. You went and you are an example for everyone.”

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Sala was born in October 1990 at Esperanza, Santa Fe, Argentina.

At the opening of his inquest, his cause of death was given as “head and trunk injuries”.

Earlier this week, Mr Ibbotson’s daughter Danielle said the family would not give up hope that he would be found.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, she said: “If you’ve got hope then you shouldn’t give up. He wouldn’t stop searching for me.

“We still hope and pray and hope everyone keeps my dad in their prayers.”