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Body is recovered from wreckage of plane that was carrying Emiliano Sala
- One body was brought to the surface before the rescue mission ended
- Officials said they will not be bringing the entire wreckage to the surface
- Unclear whether the body of Emiliano Sala or pilot David Ibbotson was found
A body has been recovered from the wreckage of the plane which crashed into the English Channel with Argentinean striker Emiliano Sala onboard.
The plane flying from Nantes, France to Cardiff on January 21 went missing with Sala and pilot David Ibbotson inside.
Remotely operated Vehicles (ROVs) were used in ‘challenging conditions’ to pull the body out of the water ‘in as dignified a way as possible’ the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said on Wednesday night.
The body is being taken to Portland to be passed over to the Dorset coroner for examination, the AAIB added.
The aircraft remains 67 metres underwater 21 miles off the coast of Guernsey in the English Channel as poor weather conditions stopped efforts to recover it.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said: ‘Following extensive visual examination of the accident site using the remotely operated vehicle (ROV), it was decided to attempt recovery operations.
‘In challenging conditions, the AAIB and its specialist contractors successfully recovered the body previously seen amidst the wreckage. The operation was carried out in as dignified a way as possible and the families were kept informed of progress.’
Emiliano Sala was onboard the plane when it went missing off the coast of France on January 21
The statement said it has not been possible to bring the wreckage to the surface and the operation has now ceased.
It continued: ‘Unfortunately, attempts to recover the aircraft wreckage were unsuccessful before poor weather conditions forced us to return the ROV to the ship. 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 body is currently being taken to Portland to be passed into the care of the Dorset Coroner.
The official search could not locate the plane – but after a private effort was launched with robotic submarines – it was found over the weekend
‘Although it was not possible to recover the aircraft, the extensive video record captured by the ROV is expected to provide valuable evidence for our safety investigation.
‘We expect our next update to be an interim report, which we intend to publish within one month of the accident occurring.’
The wreckage was found on Sunday after specialist robotic submarines were brought in.
David Ibbotson pictured with his wife, Nora Ibbotson was flying the plane which went missing over the Channel
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