Emiliano Sala feared dead: desperate hunt for missing plane with Cardiff City's new £15m striker on board called off for the night

The desperate search for a missing plane with new Premier League footballer Emiliano Sala on board has been called off for the night, police have said.

The 28-year-old Argentine was on his way to meet his new colleagues at Cardiff City after signing for the club last week in a £15 million deal when his plane vanished from radar screens.

Sala was travelling back to Wales from Nantes in Brittany after signing with the Welsh club.

In an update on Tuesday afternoon, Guernsey police said if the plane did land in the water chances of survival are "slim" and that officers searching for the light aircraft have ceased operations for the day.

The search will resume first thing in the morning. Floating objects have been discovered in the water but police said these have not been confirmed to be parts of the plane.

The striker's father today say he only found out his son was missing when he saw it on local television news.

Horacio Sala told Argentina's C5N TV channel "I don't know anything. I can't believe it. I'm desperate."

He added: "The signing (for Cardiff) had been such a joy for him and for everyone, for our town. He's a humble boy."

“The only thing I know is that it was a small plane," he said, before adding: "They're saying that the plane lost control in the channel. I don't know what could've happened. I'm speechless."

Sala’s mother Mercedes said he had been “enjoying the best moment of his career.”

“We are just here waiting, minute after minute. I spoke to him a few hours before he took off. I don't know what else to say, I'm so worried.

“We are in constant communication and desperate for good news. He was very happy and content with the transfer. He was enjoying the best moment of his career so far.”

Cardiff says it is "very distressed" about the fate of Sala after the plane bringing him to Wales disappeared from radar.

Cardiff chief executive Ken Choo says Tuesday was due to be the Argentine's first day with the team and that training had been called off following the plane’s disappearance.

Choo said the "thoughts of the squad, management staff and the entire club with Emiliano and the pilot" and that they “continued to pray for positive news”.

There were "genuine concerns" for his safety today after the Piper Malibu plane registration PA 46 vanished close to the Channel Islands.

Police said this afternoon that "no trace has yet been found" of the plane.

They said two planes, two helicopters and a lifeboat were searching for the aircraft.

"UK authorities have been calling airfields on the south coast to see if it landed there. So far we have no confirmation it did," Guernsey police said.

They said they will make a decision at sunset about whether to continue their search overnight.

A source at Ligue 1 football club Nantes, which Sala had just left, said that he had been in France to "say goodbye" to his old teammates.

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"Emiliano loved the club, and was loyal to everyone," said the source.

"He was here to say goodbye, and was due to go to Cardiff on a pilot plane. It was just a short hop, and he was expected in Wales around 9pm. He was very excited about playing in Britain."

"Everyone, including his family, is now involved in an unbearable wait for news."

A friend in France said Sala was "fulfilling the dream of a lifetime" by moving to the UK, and "could not wait to start playing in Cardiff".

The player is said to be immensely close to his family in Argentina, and spoke to his mother who still lives there "most days", but still believed his destiny was in Britain.

France's civil aviation authority confirmed Sala was aboard the plane that disappeared in the English Channel.

"He’s in touch with his family all the time, mainly on WhatsApp," said the Brittany-based source.

"His mum often visits, along with his brother and sister. He’s very loyal to them all, as he is to everybody. The English Premiership was his dream, though.

"Emiliano is also very religious. He prays a lot. His Catholic faith is very important to him."

Sala grew up in Progeso, an Argentine town with only 3,000 inhabitants in Santa Fe province, in the centre east of the country.

"As a kid, I watched a lot of the English championship on TV," he said in a recent interview in France.

Referring to two retired French players, Sala said: "I liked Arsenal, with Thierry Henry and Robert Pires."

Sala has a younger brother and sister in Argentina. The brother works as an electrician, and the sister works in a care home.

He left home when he was 15 to become a professional footballer, but is immensely loyal to his roots.

Sala was believed to have been driven to Nantes-Atlantiqe airport by Nantes player, Nicolas Pallois.

The plane's disappearance followed severe weather warnings about snow and ice being issued across France.

"The plane set off from Nantes-Atlantique airport towards 8pm on Monday," said a source working for the emergency services in France.

"There were two passengers on board, and it was heading for Cardiff, but never arrived. Two helicopters are searching for the Piper."

The source confirmed that "Mr Sala was on board" and there were "genuine concerns" for his safety.

Air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane near the Casquets lighthouse around eight miles north-west of Alderney at 8.30pm.

A spokesman for Cardiff City, Sala’s new club, confirmed the fears for his safety, as French journalist Arnaud Wajdzik, tweeted: "@EmilianoSala1 was in the plane that crashed between #NANTES and #Cardiff.""

Cardiff announced the signing of the Nantes feared for club-record £15million on Saturday.

A British coastguard rescue helicopter and crews from Alderney and Guernsey RNLI have joined the search in the area around the island's lighthouse.

In a statement, Guernsey Police said: "A search and rescue operation is currently underway off the north of Alderney after a light aircraft disappeared from radar several hours ago.

"Two helicopters alongside the Guernsey and Alderney lifeboats are searching for it."

A Piper Malibu aircraft is a single-engine plane which can carry five passengers.

Cardiff were not due to play this weekend, having been knocked out of the FA Cup by Gillingham in the third round earlier this month.

The Bluebirds' next fixture is due to be at Arsenal in a week's time.