A BODY discovered in the wreckage of a plane has been identified as that of footballer Emiliano Sala by the Dorset Coroner.

The body was brought ashore at Portland yesterday and later formal identification took place.

A spokesman for Dorset Police said: "The body brought to Portland Port  has been formally identified by HM Coroner for Dorset as that of professional footballer Emiliano Sala.

"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. Our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time.

"HM Coroner will continue to investigate the circumstances of this death supported by Dorset Police."

MORE OF TODAY'S TOP STORIES

On Monday, January 21, a plane carrying both men was flying from Nantes to Cardiff when it lost contact with Air Traffic Control, north of Guernsey. 

A search and rescue operation was unsuccessful in locating the plane and the two occupants.

Subsequently AAIB and privately funded search teams were deployed to the relevant area. Using specialist equipment the teams succeeded in locating and identifying the plane and recovering Mr Sala's body.

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 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 body is being taken to Portland where it will be passed over to the Dorset coroner for examination.

A joint statement from the Coroner for Dorset and Dorset Police, originally released yesterday before formal identification was carried out stated: "This morning, the body was brought to Portland Port, Dorset, as this is the nearest part of the British mainland to where the plane was located.

"The arrival of the body into Dorset has been reported to the Coroner for Dorset. The Coroner will investigate the circumstances of this death supported by Dorset Police. A post mortem examination will be held in due course.

"While formal identification is yet to take place, the families of Emiliano Sala and David Ibbotson have been updated and will continue to be supported by specially-trained family liaison officers, during this difficult time."

An AAIB spokesman said: "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.

"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."

WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR

The remains of the plane were discovered on Sunday evening. It had disappeared on January 21 as it travelled from Nantes in France to Cardiff.

The plane had requested to descend before it lost contact with Jersey air traffic control.

An official search operation was called off on January 24 after Guernsey's harbour master David Barker said the chances of survival following such a long period were "extremely remote".

The remains of the aircraft were tracked down by a team co-ordinated by ocean scientist David Mearns, who has located some of the most elusive wrecks in the world.

Mr Mearns - known as the "Shipwreck Hunter" - and his team located the aircraft within two hours of commencing their search.

He told the Press Association the discovery had been so quick because the team had been looking for a static object rather than in a dynamic environment searching for survivors.

"No-one should walk away with the impression that the Coastguard and also the Channel Islands air search did anything other than a professional job," he said.

The AAIB said it expected to publish an interim report within the month.

Cardiff had signed Sala for a club record £15 million and he was due to start training last month.

It has emerged that Nantes has demanded payment from Cardiff for the player's transfer.

It is understood Cardiff received a letter from Nantes on Tuesday, in which the French Ligue 1 club threatened to take legal action if the first scheduled payment of the fee is not made within 10 days.

It is believed Cardiff have been left surprised by the demand, considering the circumstances and the timing, and would rather the investigation into the tragedy is completed first.