The father of the late Premier League footballer Emiliano Sala has died of a heart attack, Argentine media has reported.
Horacio Sala, 58, collapsed on Friday morning at his home and could not be revived, the mayor of his home town told Red Radio, La Nacion newspaper reported.
Emiliano, 28, died after the plane he was travelling in crashed into the English Channel in January. He had just completed a £15 million transfer to Cardiff City.
Horacio Sala had said he discovered his son was missing after hearing a radio report in his truck.
The striker was in a small plane flown by British pilot David Ibbotson from France, where he had played for Nantes FC, to Wales when it disappeared from radar on 21 January.
His remains were recovered from the wreckage of the Piper Malibu aircraft following an extensive, and partly privately-funded, two-week search. Ibbotson’s body has not been found.
A pre-inquest review hearing was told that Sala died from extensive “head and trunk injuries”.
An interim report from air accident investigators found that Ibbotson, 59, was only able to fly passengers on a “cost-sharing basis” rather than for profit.
A full investigation is ongoing and is expected to report later this year.