UK rescuers attempting to recover body from Sala's plane
Investigators launched an underwater operation to recover the body that was found in the wreckage of the plane carrying footballer Argentine Emiliano Sala and pilot David Ibbotson.
"We are attempting to recover the body," a spokesperson for the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press reporter Rob Harris. "If we are successful, we will consider the feasibility of recovering the aircraft wreckage.
"Strong tidal waves mean we can only use the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) for limited periods each day and this will mean that progress is slow."
The AAIB discovered the body on Monday, two weeks after the Piper Malibu N264DB vanished from radar north of Guernsey. Seat cushions believed to be from the plane washed up on a beach in northwest France last week, leading investigators to search nearby waters for traces of the aircraft.
David Mears, a private oceanographer and marine scientist who was hired by Sala's family to continue the search, found the wreckage on the sea bed of the English Channel and implored authorities to quickly recover the body.
Sala's family enlisted Mears with the help of an online fundraiser that generated nearly €400,000 in funds.
"As tragic as the loss is, it's made much, much worse if the body is never recovered or they never get an answer to what happened," Mears told Agence France-Presse. "You have to see whether you can lift the plane without disturbing the body and also making sure you're picking it all up."
Sala and pilot Ibbotson were on their way to Cardiff to complete the striker's €17-million move from Nantes.