Live updates as body recovered from Emiliano Sala plane wreckage set to be identified

A statement late on Wednesday night from the Air Accident Investigation Branch said: “Following extensive visual examination of the accident site using the remotely operated vehicle (ROV), it was decided to attempt recovery operations.

“In challenging conditions, the AAIB and its specialist contractors successfully recovered the body previously seen amidst the wreckage. The operation was carried out in as dignified a way as possible and the families were kept informed of progress.

“Unfortunately, attempts to recover the aircraft wreckage were unsuccessful before poor weather conditions forced us to return the ROV to the ship.  The weather forecast is poor for the foreseeable future and so the difficult decision was taken to bring the overall operation to a close.  The body is currently being taken to Portland to be passed into the care of the Dorset Coroner.

“Although it was not possible to recover the aircraft, the extensive video record captured by the ROV is expected to provide valuable evidence for our safety investigation.

“We expect our next update to be an interim report, which we intend to publish within one month of the accident occurring.”

The police and coroner will now carry out formal identification. You can read the full story here.

The operation to attempt to recover the body inside the wreckage of the plane began on Tuesday.

The Geo Ocean III vessel remained at the crash site throughout Wednesday, with winching equipment and floodlighting on board.

On Wednesday evening, the ship left the site and headed to Portland.

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.

Two separate underwater searches were launched on Sunday morning, almost two weeks after the plane vanished from radar.

The searches included an official underwater search, coordinated by the UK Air Accident Investigation Branch, and a privately funded search directed by marine scientist Mearns, on behalf of the Sala family.

You can follow live updates on this story below. http://www.walesonline.co.uk