Body visible in plane wreckage

One body is visible in the seabed wreckage of a plane that went missing carrying Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala and his pilot two weeks ago over the English Channel, air accident investigators said yesterday

Britain’s Air Accident Investigation Branch did not say if the underwater camera identified Sala or pilot David Ibbotson, the only two people on board the small aircraft that disappeared from radar over the English Channel on January 21 as it flew from the French city of Nantes to Cardiff, Wales.

Wreckage from the plane located on Monday (NZ time) was after Sala’s family raised funds for a private search by US-born shipwreck-hunting specialist David Mearns because authorities called off the official search.

Although the seabed search on Monday was conducted in conjunction with British air accident investigators, they have not said if they plan to raise the wreckage to the surface.

‘‘I understand their priorities are a little bit different to the families’ [priorities], but I don’t think they can rest now,’’ Mearns told British radio station talkSPORT. ‘‘I just think it’s even more imperative that the plane and the body are recovered. I know that’s exactly what the Sala family want.’’

Sala, 28, a striker who played for Nantes in the French top flight, was preparing to start a new career in the Premier League at Cardiff.

‘‘[Sala’s family is] desperate to see that the plane is recovered so they can conduct a forensic examination to discover what caused the crash, and all the more now that there is a body,’’ Mearns said.

An underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) surveyed the seabed and confirmed an object was the missing Piper Malibu aircraft, with the registration N264DB visible in a picture of the fuselage released yesterday.

‘‘One occupant is visible amidst the wreckage,’’ the Air Accident Investigation Branch said. ‘‘The AAIB is now considering the next steps, in consultation with the families of the pilot and passenger, and the police.’’