Football: Emiliano Sala's body identified by fingerprints as inquest reveals cause of death

Emiliano Sala signed with Cardiff City from Nantes shortly before his tragic death. Photo / Getty

An inquest into the tragic death of Emiliano Sala has revealed the football star died from "head and trunk" injuries when the plane he was travelling on crashed into the ocean.

Sala's body was recovered from the seabed wreckage last week after he disappeared on January 22.

The 28-year-old striker was travelling to Wales to join Cardiff City, after signing a $29 million deal with his new club.

The Sun reported that Sala had to be identified by his fingerprints.

"Mr Sala was identified on the 7th February by means of fingerprint evidence analyses by fingerprint expert Christopher Bradbury," Ian Parry, a senior coroner's officer for Dorset, said.

Emiliano Sala's body was pulled from the wreckage at the bottom of the English channel. Photo / Supplied

"A post mortem was carried out after the body was taken to Holly Tree Lodge mortuary.

"Home office pathologist Mr Purdue gave the cause of death as head and trunk injuries."

The inquest was adjourned until November 6 for a pre-inquest review.

Tribute to Emiliano Sala before the match. Photo / Getty

An interim report is set to be released within a fortnight, although a full report by the Air Accident Investigation Branch will not be published for at least six months.

The search continues for British pilot David Ibbotson's body, who was flying the aircraft before it came down near Alderney, near Guernsey, on January 21.

The search is being funded by a GoFundMe page and other private donations.

Meanwhile, the mystery owners of the offshore-registered plane have been identified to investigators, The Telegraph reported.

Southern Aircraft Consultancy (SAC), a British-based company which arranged the paperwork for the single-engined Piper Malibu plane, issued a statement to deny claims that information had been withheld from authorities.

Pilot David Ibbotson is still missing. Photo / Facebook

Cardiff are among a number of parties eager to establish who owns the aircraft as part of investigations to establish who is financially liable.

The Welsh club appear legally obliged to pay Nantes a record club fee. Relations between the clubs have been soured by legal demands for payment from Nantes.

James Earl, a partner at Fladgate LLP, told The Telegraph: "There may well be no legal justification to avoid paying the first installment."

SAC has repeatedly refused to publicly name the owner of the plane, but clarified on Monday night that the Air Accidents Investigations Branch has been informed. The AAIB is due to publish an interim report on the crash within the next fortnight.