Cardiff City footballer Emiliano Sala was rendered unconscious by toxic fumes before he was killed in the plane crash that took his life, an inquest has found over three years on from his death.
The Argentine died in a light aircraft crash off Alderney en-route to join the Bluebirds from Nantes on January 21 2019, along with pilot David Ibbotson, whose body has never been recovered.
Now, a further hearing has confirmed that while the 28-year-old died from injuries sustained upon impact, he had already been left in a non-awake state before the plane broke up.
What has been ruled?
A jury at Bournemouth Town Hall found that Sala died from head and chest injuries but was in a state of deep uncocsciousness at the time after being poisoned by toxic fumes.
These are believed to have come from the aircraft's faulty exhaust system, while the jury further confirmed findsings that the plane broke up when it crashed into the sea.
Pathologist Dr Basil Purdue said Sala would have been still alive at the point of impact and died subsequently from the latter event.
What else has happened?
Three years on from Sala's death, the latest inquest may bring to an end a long-running saga surrounding the circumstances of his demise.
Flight organiser David Henderson was convicted last autumn of endangering the safety of the aircraft in effectively booking the unlicensed flight.
Now, with the latest ruling, Sala's family are another step closer to having the full picture of the incident.
Further reading
Flight organiser Henderson convicted over Sala death
Cardiff send information to French prosecutors on Sala death
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