The body recovered from the plane wreckage in the English Channel has been confirmed to be Emiliano Sala.
Dorset Police issued a statement late on Thursday night.
“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,” it read.
“HM Coroner will continue to investigate the circumstances of this death supported by Dorset Police.
“On Monday 21 January 2019 a plane carrying both men was flying from Nantes to Cardiff when it lost contact with Air Traffic Control, north of Guernsey.
“Sadly 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.”
Geo Ocean III – the vessel used by investigators in the recovery mission – docked at Portland, Dorset, on Thursday morning, when the body was brought ashore.
The body was passed into the care of the Coroner of Dorset.
The operation to attempt to recover the body inside the wreckage of the plane began on Tuesday.
A body was found amid the wreckage of the plane after an underwater search of the seabed located the wreckage in the English Channel on Sunday.
It comes after two separate underwater searches were launched to find the plane on Sunday, one coordinated by the UK Air Accident Investigation Branch, and a privately funded search directed by marine scientist Mearns, on behalf of the Sala family.