Body recovered from wreckage of footballer Sala's plane

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal and Hasan Esen

LONDON (AA) – A body has been recovered from the wreckage of a plane that crashed in the English Channel last month while carrying Argentinian footballer Emiliano Sala and his pilot, British investigators said Wednesday.

The aircraft was discovered on the seabed of the English Channel on Sunday, but efforts to remove the body had been hindered by tidal conditions.

In a statement, the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said that “in challenging conditions”, the AAIB and its specialist contractors had successfully recovered the body, which had been seen amid the wreckage.

The AAIB said the operation was carried out in “as dignified a way as possible” and the families were kept informed of the progress.

"The body is currently being taken to Portland to be passed into the care of the Dorset Coroner,” it said.

The statement did say whether the body was that of Sala or pilot David Ibbotson, who were the only ones onboard the aircraft.

"Unfortunately, attempts to recover the aircraft wreckage were unsuccessful before poor weather conditions forced us to return the ROV to the ship,” it added, referring to a remotely operated vehicle.

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.