Body of plane crash footballer Sala identified

TRAGIC footballer Emiliano Sala will forever remain in the thoughts of Cardiff City, the club said, as his body was formally identified after being recovered from underwater wreckage in the English Channel last night.

Sala was identified by the Dorset coroner a day after his body was pulled from the plane, which had been flown by pilot David Ibbotson. The families of both men have been informed, police said.

Cardiff City Football Club said in a statement: “We offer our most heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the family of Emiliano.

“He and David will forever remain in our thoughts.”

Other tributes were paid by Arsenal player Mesut Ozil, Manchester City’s Benjamin Mendy and Paris Saint-Germain footballer Kylian Mbappe.

The Piper Malibu plane lost contact with air traffic control over the Channel, north of Guernsey, on January 21.

An initial search and rescue operation failed to locate the plane but it was later discovered by the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) and privately funded search teams.

The aircraft remains 67 metres underwater 21 miles off the coast of Guernsey in the English Channel due to poor weather conditions.

Dorset Police said the families of Mr Sala and the pilot David Ibbotson have been updated with this news and will continue to be supported by family liaison officers.

The aircraft remains under water off the coast of Guernsey