French police said on Tuesday that striker Emiliano Sala, the Argentine footballer, was on board a plane that disappeared near the English Channel on Monday evening. Sala, who signed for Cardiff City FC last Saturday, was on a small private plane, named "Pepper Malibu", traveling from Nantes to Cardiff, and disappeared near the "Casket" Lighthouse. It is said that Sala was one of two passengers on board. Cardiff club president Mehmet Delman said: “We are concerned about the rumors about the loss of a small plane over the English Channel last night. We will wait to obtain more information before making any statement. We are really concerned about the safety of Emiliano Sala.” Search and rescue work began on Monday evening, in difficult circumstances. The British Coast Guard said that the disappearance did not fall within the scope of the rescue area. However, only two helicopters were sent to assist the Guernsey Coast Guard. More news on Euronews: Kvitova crushes Barty and reaches the semi-finals at the Australian Open A plane carrying Cardiff City player Sala disappears over the English Channel Reports: Bellerin will miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury According to a Coast Guard spokeswoman, she said: “Two helicopters were sent from the Solent and Newquay to assist in the search during the night, but nothing was found.” Sala completed his transfer from Nantes to Cardiff on Saturday, but returned to France to bid farewell to his friends at the club. He was scheduled to train with his new club next Tuesday morning, and play his first match for the club against Arsenal next week. The 28-year-old, who scored 12 goals this season, moved to Cardiff in a deal worth 15 million pounds. The Guernsey Coast Guard received an alert at 8:23 pm on Monday stating that a small plane had disappeared, and the search operation continued until 2 am, due to the circumstances, and two helicopters, two planes and a rescue boat participated in the operation. According to the police, the plane requested permission to cross Guernsey, but contact with it was lost at an altitude of 2,300 feet.