UK authorities say body recovered from footballer Sala plane wreckage: Reports

UK investigators said that a body had been "successfully recovered" from the site of the crash of a plane carrying Argentinian footballer Emiliano Sala and pilot David Ibbotson in the English Channel, UK media reported.

The Sky News broadcaster reported late on Wednesday, citing the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), that the body had been pulled out of water "in as dignified a way as possible" by the remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).

"Unfortunately, attempts to recover the aircraft wreckage were unsuccessful before poor weather conditions forced us to return the ROV to the ship," the AAIB spokesperson said, as quoted by Sky News.

The body had been taken to the Isle of Portland and transferred to the Senior Coroner for Dorset, according to the spokesperson.

It was unknown if the remains were those of Sala or Ibbotson, the broadcaster noted.

The plane carrying the pilot and the footballer disappeared from radars on January 22 and was located last Sunday.