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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National

Emiliano Sala latest: Body recovered from plane crash wreckage identified as that of Cardiff City footballer

The plane carrying footballer Emiliano Sala will be left on the seabed

The body recovered from wreckage of a plane that crashed in the English Channel has been formally identified as footballer Emiliano Sala.

The families of Cardiff City player Sala, 28, and the aircraft's pilot David Ibbotson have been informed, Dorset Police confirmed.

Sala's body was identified by the Dorset coroner on Thursday, the force said.

"Our thoughts remain with them [the families] at this difficult time," police added in its statement.

The wreckage of Sala's plane underwater (AAIB)

It comes after the body found in the aircraft was removed from the crash site and successfully brought to shore on Wednesday.

The Piper Malibu N264DB plane lost contact with air traffic control over the Channel, north of Guernsey, on Monday, January 21.

A stretcher carrying a body is brought to shore in Portland, Dorset (PA)

An initial search and rescue operation failed to locate the plane but it was later discovered by the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) and privately funded search teams.

On Thursday morning, the body was brought to Portland, Dorset, by boat and taken on a stretcher to an ambulance, before being transferred to the coroner.

(AFP/Getty Images)

The Piper Malibu plane carrying the footballer and Mr Ibbotson, 59, was discovered off the coast of Alderney in the English Channel on Sunday.

Marine explorer David Mearns, who was leading the search, said on Monday that the wreckage needed to be raised from the seabed as soon as possible to give Sala's family answers.

Speaking before the body was recovered, he said: "There's a much greater chance they will get answers if (the plane is) recovered."

An official search operation was called off on January 24 after Guernsey's harbour master David Barker said the chances of survival following such a long period were "extremely remote"

The AAIB has said their next update on the investigation will likely be an interim report to be released within a month of the accident occuring.

In its latest statement, Dorset Police said: "The body brought to Portland Port today has been formally identified by HM Coroner for Dorset as that of professional footballer Emiliano Sala.

"The families of Mr Sala and the pilot David Ibbotson have been updated with this news and will continue to be supported by specially-trained family liaison officers.

"Our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time.

"HM Coroner will continue to investigate the circumstances of this death supported by Dorset Police."

During the recovery operation, the AAIB used a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) to aid the search. No divers were involved.

The body was moved first to maximise the chances of it being successfully brought to the surface.

The confirmed location of the plane wreckage (AAIB/PA)

Investigators had said efforts to recover the crashed plane as a whole proved unsuccessful, before being abandoned due to poor weather conditions.

"The weather forecast is poor for the foreseeable future and so the difficult decision was taken to bring the overall operation to a close," the AAIB said in a statement.

After Sala’s body was identified, Cardiff City Football Club said in a statement: "We offer our most heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the family of Emiliano. He and David will forever remain in our thoughts."

Other tributes were paid by Arsenal player Mesut Ozil, Manchester City's Benjamin Mendy and Paris Saint-Germain footballer Kylian Mbappe.

Ozil tweeted: "No words to describe how sad this is. Thoughts and prayers go out to his family and also to the family of the pilot."

Premier League club Cardiff City had signed Sala, an Argentinian striker, for a club record of £15 million.

His former club Nantes has demanded payment from Cardiff for the player's transfer.

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