The oceanographer who found the aircraft of Emiliano Sala speaks: "Recovering the body is the most important" – 02/05/2019

He is the hero of a tragedy. The oceanographer and scientist of the sea David Louis Mearns, specialized in the research and the recovery of remains in deep water, puts his knowledge and his humanity at the disposal of the family of Emiliano Sala, the player disappeared in a plane of the Channel.

When he heard his sister Romina on British television, with the strength that gives the pain of not interrupting the search, Mearns decided that she needed help and that it was he who could offer it to her. He sent an e-mail to the Consulate General in London and Cardiff, where the family was, the first contact took place.

This British American, member of the Royal Geographical Society, documentalist and discoverer of success of legendary ships of the Second World War was not interested in the money that the family had obtained in an online collection, to which they contributed figures such as Mbappé and Messi and thousands of anonymous people. A football lover, a humanist, he was touched by the pain of a defenseless family. He offered to work pro bono. He would only receive money if he found it. It's his FPV Morven ship that has detected the remains of the Piper Malibu 63 meters deep in the Channelonly six hours after the start of the research. From his home in Surrey, with thousands of calls with requests for interviews from around the world, Mearns spoke with Clarín.

-The agency just admit that she is recovering a body. How will the process unfold?

-I must correct it, they have not yet said that they were recovering the body. Where did you hear it?

– They just said it a minute ago.

-Let me verify. They tried during the night and I know that they had trouble doing it during the night.

What I would like to know is how the body recovery process will unfold in such difficult waters.

-If they do it now, they do it with a robotic vehicle, remotely operated and connected to the ship with a cable that pilots a pilot. He has cameras and microphones and has robotic arms. The question is where the body is. That is to say if it is to say whether it is free or stuck in the seats.

-You saw the video He must know exactly where the body is.

-No, I did not see the video. They will insure the body and this can be done in different ways. They can load it, they can place a line through or, in the case where the seats are, they could possibly put a hook or a rope. Potentially, you can also put it in a basket, through the seats. Put the body in the basket and load it. There are many ways to do it.

-They will also use divers because they are 63 meters deep …

– As far as I know, there are no divers.

How long do you have time to do this operation? I understand that the boat rental ended on Monday.

-They can extend it.

– Do you think both bodies can be there or maybe only one?

What I do know is that they only have one body. That's all I know.

-You are in contact with the family. He is one of your advisors. What is the family project? Do they want to recover the body and the plane? What do they want to do?

-The most important thing is the body. Recovering the body is the most important for each of these families. The plane is another matter and is related to determining the cause of the accident. But What these families know right now is that both of them are dead and what they want is to recover their bodies..

– Do you think the two bodies can be together or not?

-They said that there was only one. They did not say anything else.

– Can you tell me how you contacted this family and why?

– I contacted you through the Consulate General of Argentina in London. There, I said that I would like to help the family for whom I saw Romina. She was here alone. A girl who could not speak the language in a foreign country attending a meeting had to explain technical problems. I realized that she needed the advice of an expert, someone who could help her technically. That's how I offered my help.

– What is the relationship with the family right now?

-We came to this situation together. I did all this in the interest of this family, his sister, his mother, Mercedes and all his friends. I did my best to help them.

Are they in Nantes or the UK with you?

-No, they are in France

-How did you find the wreck so fast? As did?

-We had a good position since the return of the radar and that's how we did it. We knew where to look.

– It is from the discovery of the seats, found in France, that they found a way to know where to look?

No it was airport radar. The airport radar can track the plane until the last minute, before it gets stuck and that 's the information we have.

– What are the next steps for you?

I'm not involved anymore. Once we found it, everything was in the hands of the British accident investigation agency. They must search for the cause of the fall. It is also their responsibility to recover the bodies. We are grateful for everything you do. The family will be very grateful for this effort. Now, we pray that they will succeed.

-Who pays for this operation? The agency, the family, the government? Who?

-The British government is doing it right now. The work that I did was paid on the basis of the donation fund that was collected. It is now the government that supports this operation.

– Is the agency funded by the government?

-The agency is the government.

– What will be the role of insurers in the recovery of the aircraft? They will be millionaire expenses …

-I do not think it's so expensive. What I do know is that insurance companies are not involved at the moment. All of this is done by the government. The insurance has not yet been involved in this process.

– The police were involved?

-Yes

-In what way?

-We are talking about a missing person. There was an accident and people died. This is the reason why the police must be involved.