Body from wreckage of Sala's plane arrives in Britain

Investigators recovered a body underwater from the wreckage of a plane carrying Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala in the Channel and transported it to the British mainland on Thursday for identification.

Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said that bad weather meant they were unable to recover the plane and as a result it was closing down the operation.

The light aircraft was carrying the 28-year-old footballer to his new Premier League team Cardiff City when it disappeared near the British island of Guernsey on January 21, along with 59-year-old pilot David Ibbotson.

Sala's disappearance prompted an outpouring of grief across the footballing world, including at his former club Nantes in France where the plane was flying from.

After search operations were suspended, a shipwreck hunter hired by Sala's family with funds donated by football stars such as Lionel Messi found the wreckage on Sunday.

The body was taken to Portland Harbour in southern England on board the Geo Ocean III offshore supply ship.

It was then stretchered into a silver van, with Dorset Police confirming it had "left the boat and left the port", before being taken to a nearby mortuary for identification and a post-mortem.

"This morning... the body was brought to Portland Port, Dorset, as this is the nearest part of the British mainland to where the plane was located," said the police statement.

"While formal identification is yet to take place, the families of Emiliano Sala and David Ibbotson have been updated."