Emiliano Sala died of ‘head and trunk’ injuries

A post-mortem has uncovered the Cardiff City player’s cause of death, as the family of the missing pilot continue their search.

A post mortem has found Emiliano Sala died from head and torso injuries. Picture: AFP

A post-mortem has found that Cardiff City soccer player Emiliano Sala died from injuries to his head and torso when his plane crashed in the English Channel. The evidence was heard at a coroner’s hearing in the English city of Bournemouth on Monday, three weeks to the day since the crash.

Emiliano Sala's mother Mercedes, centre left and sister Romina. Picture: AP

The single-engine aircraft was flying from the French city of Nantes to Cardiff where Sala was due to start a new career playing for the Welsh capital’s Premier League club.

A UK Home Office pathologist Dr Basil Purdue has given the cause of Sala’s death as “head and trunk injuries.” Argentine player Sala’s body was recovered from the seabed wreckage last week but pilot David Ibbotson is still missing.

Mr Ibbotson’s family say they will never give up hope of finding him. Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Mr Ibbotson’s daughter Danielle said her father would not give up looking for her if she was missing, so she would not give up on him.

“If you’ve got hope then you shouldn’t give up,” she said. “He wouldn’t stop searching for me.” She added: “We still hope and pray and hope everyone keeps my dad in their prayers.”

AAP