Emiliano Sala: the body identified as the footballer of the city of Cardiff

The body found in the wreckage of a crashed plane is that of Cardiff City player Emiliano Sala, according to the Dorset Police.

Sala, 28, was traveling to Cardiff on a plane headed by David Ibbotson, who disappeared on 21 January over the English Channel.

The body was found late Wednesday after the discovery of the wreck Sunday morning.

Dorset police confirmed the identification on Thursday night.

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In a statement, the force said: "The body transported to Portland Harbor today, Thursday, February 7, 2019, was officially identified by the coroner for Dorset as that of professional footballer Emiliano Sala.

"The families of Mr. Sala and pilot David Ibbotson have been informed of this news and will continue to be badisted by specially trained family liaison officers."

The body was seen in the wreckage of the plane on Monday and the authorities were able to recover it two days later, despite "difficult conditions".

The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) stated that the operation was conducted "in the most dignified manner possible" and that men's families were regularly informed.

The Geo Ocean III, involved in the discovery of the wreck, has brought the body back to the port of Portland, Dorset, where it has been officially identified.

The Piper Malibu N264DB was en route from France to Cardiff, after the Argentine striker made a quick return to his former club in Nantes two days after the announcement of his transfer for £ 15 million to Cardiff .

Mr. Ibbotson, 59, of Crowle, North Lincolnshire, was in charge when the flight lost contact with the air traffic controllers on January 21st.

He is still to find.

An official search was canceled on Jan. 24 after the Guernsey port captain declared that the chances of survival were "extremely low".

But an online call launched by the Sala agent has raised £ 324,000 (371,000 euros) for private research led by sea scientist and oceanographer David Mearns.

Working together with the AAIB, his ship and the Geo Ocean III began exploring a four square mile area of ​​the English Channel, 24 miles north of Guernsey, to optimize the use of sensors available.

Mr Mearns said the aircraft had been identified by sonar before a submarine equipped with cameras was sent under the water to confirm it.

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During the recovery operation, the AAIB used a remotely operated submarine vehicle to facilitate search without a diver involved.

The body was moved first, separately from the wreck, to maximize the chances of bringing it to the surface.

Efforts to recover the accident aircraft as a whole were in vain, before being abandoned due to poor weather conditions.

"The weather forecast is mediocre in the near future and the difficult decision to end all operations has therefore been taken," said AAIB in a statement.

However, the AAIB said the video footage captured by the ROV would provide "valuable evidence" for its security investigation.

Meanwhile, it appeared that the former club of Sala, on the side of the Ligue 1 of Nantes, had asked Cardiff City to pay its transfer fee of 15 million pounds.

Sala was Cardiff's record man but never played for the club.

The fees were to be paid over three years, but Cardiff withheld the first scheduled payment until it was satisfied with the documentation.