The families of the 11 victims of the Shoreham Airshow disaster have been informed their loved ones are dead, the West Sussex coroner has confirmed.

Coroner Penelope Schofield says formal positive identification of the victims in the Shoreham Air disaster has been completed and all families advised.

The search is continuing at the scene in order to recover all the outstanding remains. The inquests into the deaths of the victims will open on Wednesday September 2 at County Hall North in Horsham.

Families of the deceased are invited to attend the opening of the inquiry where the names of the 11 victims will be officially released.

However, due to ongoing investigations by the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB), the inquest will open and be adjourned to a future date.

Ms Schofield has already met the families of the victims and will be providing them with details of how the matter will proceed further.

She said: “Identifying all 11 victims has been a difficult process due to the horrific nature of the accident and the intensity of the fire."

Ms Schofield said the blast was so intense and the scale of the damage so vast, it meant the remains of the victims have had to be removed very carefully to ensure the deceased were formally identified.

A team of expert forensic archaeologists, anthropologists, odontologists and pathologists have assisted to help identify the victims’ remains.