Tragedy in air: Footballers who died in plane crashes

By Fatih Erel

ISTANBUL (AA) - More than 100 footballers died over the last 75 years across the world as Cardiff City's Emiliano Sala was the latest victim of a series of plane crashes in the sports history.

Late Thursday, British police confirmed that a body recovered from plane wreckage in the English Channel belongs to Argentina-born striker Sala.

Sala was on his way to join his new club, Cardiff City FC, after signing a £15 million ($19.5 million) contract.

The airplane was en route to Cardiff from Nantes, France before it disappeared from radar on Jan. 21 near the Channel Islands.

Here are the list of footballers who died in plane crashes:

On Jan. 21, 2019, Sala died after an aircraft came down in the English Channel.

On Nov. 28, 2016, a plane carrying Brazil's Chapecoense club crashed in the Andes mountains near Medellin, Colombia. Three players survived while 19 others died.

On April 27, 1993, after taking off from Gabon, a military aircraft carrying 18 footballers from Zambia's national football team crashed into the sea.

On June 7, 1989, 15 Surinam-born Dutch footballers died when an airplane crashed during landing at Surinam's capital Paramaribo.

On Dec. 8, 1987, a plane carrying the Alianza club of Lima crashed in the Pacific Ocean and 16 players died.

On Aug. 11, 1979, 17 players of Pakhtakor Tashkent team of a former Soviet football league died in a mid-air collision, above Ukraine on way to Belarus.

On April 3, 1961, eight players from Chile's Club de Deportes Green Cross died in a plane crash in the Andes mountain range in South America.

On July 16, 1960, eight Danish footballers died when a plane crashed into the Oresund Strait after taking off from Copenhagen Airport.

On Feb. 6, 1958, a plane crashed at Munich Airport killed eight players of England's Manchester United.

On May 4, 1949, 18 Torino football club players died in a plane crash near Turin.