EMILIANO Sala's sister wept outside the Cardiff City Stadium where a sea of tributes have been in left in honour of the tragic footballer.

Romina Sala read messages from fans where the 28-year-old signed for a club record £15m transfer days before his plane vanished over the Channel Islands.

She was comforted by Cardiff chief executive Ken Choo as supporters watched on in haunting silence at the makeshift memorial.

Sala's family are planning to fund a private search after Guernsey Police yesterday announced it was calling off the hunt for Sala, the missing plane and Brit pilot Dave Ibbotson.

Romina Sala said that she feels her brother is still alive as she called on rescuers not to give up hope.

Mr Choo backed the calls as he spoke to reporters outside the stadium.

He said: "We still hope that the search mission can continue and we could locate Emiliano.

"After the news yesterday that the search had been called off, I think it's right for the staff and all of us to lay some flowers and do some prayers for his safe return."

FAMILY AND FOOTBALL STARS BACK CALLS FOR FURTHER SEARCH
The star's mum Mercedes is today travelling to the Channel Islands, where his agent Meissa N'Diaye has already arrived.

Argentina football heroes such as Chelsea striker Gonzalo Higuain and national team manager Lionel Scaloni are among those to publicly criticise the move to call off the search.

The striker's former club FC Nantes have also backed the campaign for crews to carry on trawling the Channel.

Sala was flying to south Wales after saying goodbye to teammates at FC Nantes on Monday, where he earned a transfer to the Premier League with 13 goals in 18 games this season.

The plane left Nantes at around 7.15pm on Monday, having originally been scheduled to depart on Monday morning.

The aircraft got into difficulties while crossing the English Channel and vanished at around 8.30pm.

Aviation experts have told The Sun the plane could have been brought down by a build-up of deadly ice on the wings, causing the pilot to stall.

One expert said: "There are reports that the footballer was texting saying the aircraft is shaking and breaking up are classic signs of icing on the wings".

“The pilot is most likely wrestling with a stall at 2,300ft.

“It is likely, though, that the aircraft hit the water in one piece otherwise debris would have quickly been found.”