UK police investigating emergence of picture said to be of Emiliano Sala's body online
The British police are investigating the emergence of a photograph believed to be of the late footballer Emiliano Sala's body, officials on Sunday said. The Argentine striker, Sala, died in a plane crash in the English Channel in January, along with pilot David Ibbotson.
A spokesperson for the Dorset Police in Bournemouth, an English coastal town where the footballer's body was being held, said: "We are aware that a picture reported to be of Mr. Sala’s body has been shared on social media channels and are disgusted that somebody did this."
The official added that the police were probing how and when the picture was taken and by whom. According to the British news media, the picture was taken in the mortuary and posted to Twitter. It was soon taken down from the popular micro-blogging site. Many have speculated that the picture could be a result of a break-in.
“It is clearly a very difficult time for Mr. Sala’s family, and they should not have to endure the additional pain that this shameful act will undoubtedly cause,” the police spokesman said, according to the New York Times.
The news of Sala's picture came a day after it was learned that the star footballer's father, Horacio Sala, had died of a heart attack three months after the death of his son.
The news of Horacio Sala's demise was confirmed by a local politician, Julio Muller, who told media that Sala had passed away in the night and could not be saved by paramedics. "2019 doesn't let up in shocking us with news in this town," Muller said. "At 5 o'clock in the morning, the lady, his wife, rang me and she was very upset. The doctors were there but when I arrived at their home, he had already died."
A Cardiff City spokesperson, in an email on Sunday, responded to the news of Sala's picture circulating, saying: "Cardiff City F.C. expresses its disgust and outrage at the individual/individuals who thoughtlessly took and shared the image.”
Sala died from injuries to head and trunk following the crash of his plane in the English Channel on January 21, an inquest heard on February 11 after his body was identified by his fingerprints. Sala's devastated family had paid tribute to the Argentinian after it was confirmed that the body recovered from the submerged plain wreck was his. Investigators recovered the footballer's body from the wreckage weeks after the aircraft crashed with Sala and pilot Ibbotson on board.
The Piper Malibu plane was found by a privately-funded search crew on February 3 after it disappeared from radar over the English Channel on January 21. The plane was carrying the 28-year-old Argentinian football star from Nantes in France to Cardiff after his £15million move to Cardiff City and was being piloted by 59-year-old Ibbotson, whose body is yet to be recovered.