The body recovered from a plane that crashed in the Channel has been formally identified as that of the Cardiff City footballer Emiliano Sala, police have said.
The aircraft, which was also carrying the pilot David Ibbotson, crashed on 21 January, en route from Nantes to Cardiff.
“The body brought to Portland Port has been formally identified by HM Coroner for Dorset as that of professional footballer Emiliano Sala,” Dorset police said. “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.”
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.”
The wreckage of the Piper Malibu N264DB that was carrying the two men was found in the sea off the Channel Islands on Sunday, and investigators said shortly afterwards they had seen a body inside.
Efforts were then made to recover and identify the body, though they were made more difficult by poor weather conditions. On Thursday, after the body was brought to Portland in Dorset by the Geo Ocean III boat, police confirmed it was that of the footballer.
Sala had recently been signed by the Premier League club from the French Ligue 1 club FC Nantes. He was returning to south Wales from the French city, which he had visited to say goodbye to old friends and teammates, when the crash occurred.
On Thursday, Dorset police said the coroner would continue to investigate the circumstances of Sala’s death, supported by its officers. The Air Accident Investigation Branch also said it had decided not to continue efforts to raise the plane, which it had surveyed using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV).
“Unfortunately, attempts to recover the aircraft wreckage were unsuccessful before poor weather conditions forced us to return the ROV to the ship,” said a statement. “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 the operation to recover Sala’s body was “carried out in as dignified a way as possible” in conditions that were challenging. While it could not raise the plane, the body said “extensive video record captured by the ROV is expected to provide valuable evidence for our safety investigation”. Investigators said they would produce an interim report on the crash by 21 February.
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