Argentines pay tribute to Sala at special memorial

PROGRESO, Argentina, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Grieving Argentines paid tribute to footballer Emiliano Sala on Saturday at a special memorial in his home region of Santa Fe.

The body of the 28-year old Sala, who died in a plane crash last month, was laid out in a gymnasium in the town where he grew up so friends and family could pay their last respects.

A single-engine plane carrying Sala from his French club Nantes to his new team Cardiff City crashed on Jan. 21 in the English Channel, before he could make his debut for the Premier League side.

Wreckage was found on Feb. 3 following a privately-funded underwater search and a body recovered three days later.

Sala's body was flown back to Argentina and arrived in Buenos Aires on Friday morning before being driven the 538 km (334 miles) to Progreso, where he grew up.

The gymnasium of the Atletico y Social San Martin de Progreso club hosted boys' teams where Sala played as a child.

Residents in the town of around 2,500 people, many wearing the red and black shirt of the local side with the name EMI on the back, began arriving at about 7am on Saturday to see the body and pay their last respects.

Outside, fans draped a banner saying, ‘Emi, nunca caminaras solo’ or ‘Emi, You’ll Never Walk Alone.’

"It's as if he was a member of my family," said a sobbing Lucia Torres, who lives nearby. "It's something I can’t understand nor accept because it hurts so much. The town has been in darkness since Jan. 21."

Cardiff manager Neil Warnock and the Welsh club's chief executive Ken Choo are among those who will attend the funeral this weekend.

"I would like to find a responsible person... someone who says to me, 'This happened', but, well, it seems this was just an accident," said Sala's aunt, Mirta Taffarel. (Reporting by Miguel Lobianco and Maximilian Heath; Writing by Andrew Downie; Editing by Ken Ferris)