AN INQUEST into the death of Cardiff City footballer Emiliano Sala is due to open in Bournemouth today.

The 28-year-old died when a plane flying him from Nantes to Cardiff plunged into the sea off the coast of Guernsey on Monday January 21.

Mr Sala was the only passenger in the plane and his body was retrieved from wreckage on Wednesday February 6.

Pilot David Ibbotson has not been located.

The inquest is being held in Bournemouth because Mr Sala's body was brought to Portland, the nearest part of the British mainland to where the plane was located.

Assistant Dorset Coroner Brendan Allen will hear brief details of circumstances surrounding Mr Sala's death as well as details of formal identification.

The inquest will then be adjourned to allow the Air Accident Investigation Branch and other agencies to carry out detailed inquiries.

A notice of today's inquest gives the date and place of Mr Sala's death as February 7 at Portland. It gives his place of residence as France.