Police Confirm That The Body Of Cardiff City Striker Emiliano Sala Has Been Found

The weeks-long search and rescue mission for the plane that disappeared in the English Channel while carrying new Cardiff City striker Emiliano Sala late last month has come to its tragic endpoint: Dorset Police have confirmed in a statement that they found the body of the 28-year-old Argentine in the wreckage.

The plane was located in the water on February 3, and a body was later sighted in the wreckage on in the early hours of February 7. It wasn’t until late on Thursday, however, that they were able to identify Sala. The player—who was Cardiff City’s record signing at the time of his disappearance—was one of two people on the plane when it disappeared on its way to Wales from France, where his former team, FC Nantes is located; also on the plane was pilot David Ibbotson.

The soccer community pledged money to help the rescue mission continue until the plane was found, with players such as PSG star Kylian Mbappe donating to keep the search going. It was initially called off due to bad weather, which endangered the team working to locate the plane. There are still no substantial details on what happened to the plane prior to its disappearance.