Missing footballer: Sala sent voice message from airplane

Missing Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala has sent a voice message to his friends from Cardiff airport, according to media reports. "I'm up here on the plane, which seems to be crumbling into pieces, and I'm on my way to Cardiff," said the audio file released Tuesday night.

"If you do not hear news from me in an hour and a half, I do not know if they even send someone to look for me, because they will not find me anyway, then you know, I'm so scared."

The father of the player, Horacio Sala, confirmed the authenticity of the approximately one-minute recording of the renowned Argentine newspaper "Clarín". In the background, engine noise can be heard. Despite his apparent concern, the footballer does not panic, but rather tired. Sala yawns several times.

Est El estremecedor audio de Emiliano Sala desde arriba de la avioneta desaparecida. pic.twitter.com/msfQFUJ2Bl

The footballer was on the way from French Nantes to his new club Cardiff City. He probably had a long day in Nantes behind him: "I'm totally broken," he said on the audio file. "I was in Nantes and I did things - it just did not stop, tomorrow we'll start, I'll train with the new team, let's see how it goes."

Search should continue on Wednesday

The propeller plane with the 28-year-old, a pilot and another passenger on board had disappeared from the radar on the flight to Cardiff in the UK over the English Channel, she was recently located near the British Channel island Guernsey. The pilot had lost contact with air traffic control over the English Channel late Monday evening.

There were many signs of a crash on Tuesday, but there is no certainty. Emergency personnel searched the sea surface for debris with boats and from the air. "There's no sign of the plane," the police said. After sunset, the search was temporarily interrupted. It should be continued on Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday evening, hundreds of supporters of the West French club gathered in downtown Nantes to lay flowers, as the Frenchinfo radio station reported.

Do it plus qu'un joueur, @ EmilianoSala1. # PrayForSala pic.twitter.com/P5D9wtkoTK

"We are very concerned about the safety of Emiliano Sala," said Cardiff City Chairman Mehmet Dalman, the Guardian. According to his new club on Tuesday should be his first day with the team. The training was finally canceled.

"I hope everything will be fine"

Sala comes from the town of Cululú in Argentina's northeastern province of Santa Fe. He never played professional football in Argentina, but played his entire career in France, where he was in Orléans, Niort, Bordeaux, Caen and last in Nantes under contract. Just a few days ago, his move from FC Nantes to Cardiff City became known.

"For him and for us all, his transfer to Cardiff was a big step," Sala's father told the Argentine TV channel C5N. "He's a boy from the village, modest, someone who has always fought, hopefully everything will be fine."