THE FATHER OF Emiliano Sala, the Argentine footballer who died in a plane crash earlier this year, has died at the age of 58 following a heart attack, the local mayor has said.

Horacio Sala’s sudden death comes just three months after his son.

“Horacio’s wife called me at five o’clock in the morning (8am Irish time). The doctors were already there, he never managed to get over the death of Emi,” Progreso mayor Julio Mueller said.

The light aircraft carrying Emiliano Sala from Nantes to his new club disappeared near the British island of Guernsey on 21 January.

Sala’s body was recovered from sea but the pilot, David Ibbotson, is still missing.

An inquest has since found that Sala died of “head and trunk injuries”. 

Sala’s disappearance sparked an outpouring of grief and a flood of cash to support a private hunt for the plane when the official search was initially called off.

In a statement following Emiliano’s death, the family said in a statement: “We can now begin to mourn our son and our brother. We would like to thank you all for your signs of affection and support in the most painful time of our life. 

“To see everyone doing everything possible to join us in the search has been a precious help to us.”

Includes reporting by - © AFP, 2019