A body has been recovered from the wreckage of the plane that crashed in the Channel with footballer Emiliano Sala and pilot David Ibbotson on board, three days after the aircraft was found.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has not said whether the body is that of the Argentinian striker or that of the pilot, following their disappearance on 21 January.

Using remotely operated vehicles in “challenging conditions” in poor weather, the AAIB and its specialist contractors successfully recovered the body previously seen amid the wreckage following extensive visual examinations of the accident site.

“The operation was carried out in as dignified a way as possible and the families were kept informed of progress,” the AAIB said in a statement. “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.”