MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Father of Emiliano Sala dies of heart attack three months after his son's plan crash

“I cannot believe it. This is a dream. A bad dream. I am desperate,” Horacio told Cronica TV shortly after the crash

The father of Emiliano Sala has died just three months after the footballer was killed in a plane crash. Horacio Sala, who was 58, passed away at his home in Progreso, Argentina after a heart attack.

Julio Muller, the mayor of the town in the Santa Fe province where Emiliano Sala was born, confirmed the news to radio station La Red. 

“This year doesn't stop surprising us with bad news in this town,” Muller said. 

“At five o'clock, Horacio's partner called me because she was very upset. We live four blocks from their house. When I arrived, the doctors were already there, but he had already passed away.” 

Muller said Horacio Sala had struggled to come to terms with the death of his son, whose body was recovered in the English Channel after the plane carrying him from Nantes to Cardiff crashed. Pilot David Ibbotson has not been found. 

“I cannot believe it. This is a dream. A bad dream. I am desperate,” Horacio told Cronica TV shortly after the crash, which happened when his son was travelling to the UK to link up with Cardiff City after agreeing to a £15 million transfer from Nantes in January. 

Daniel Ribero, the president of Emiliano Sala's old club San Martin de Progreso, said Horacio had recently shown signs of recovery from his grief. 

“I was with him during the week,” said Ribero, as quoted by Ole. “I passed him in the street and we spent half an hour talking about the soybean harvest, the truck... 

”I noticed he was better, he was keen to talk.“ 

Cardiff City have outlined ”grave concerns” about pilot David Ibbotson's licence and the legality of the flight that carried Emiliano Sala following an interim Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report.

Ibbotson and Sala were travelling from Nantes to Cardiff on board a Piper Malibu aircraft when it disappeared on January 22.

Sala's body was later recovered from the plane wreckage in the English Channel with the help of specialist contractors, he died from head and trunk injuries. Ibbotson's body has yet to be found.

The single-engine aircraft with Sala and pilot David Ibbotson on board crashed in the English Channel while flying from Nantes to Cardiff.