Malaysia Airlines MH370: France to conduct air, land, sea searches around

Several demanded that Kuala Lumpur organise travel to the French island of Réunion, where a wing part, which Malaysia’s prime minister, Najib Razak, said came from the plane, was washed ashore.

French prosecutors, however, declined to confirm the debris belonged to flight 370 and said there was a “very high probability” the wreckage came from the ill-fated plane and that more tests were needed before making a definitive conclusion.

Malaysian experts are convinced the flaperon is from MH370 because a seal on the part matched a maintenance record and the paint was the same colour.

France has intensified its land, sea and air searches for debris from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 on and around the island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean.

Malaysia Airlines issued a statement Thursday saying it had informed relatives of the 239 people who were aboard the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing that the wing section “was indeed from Flight MH370”. “I believe we should be given a part to play if there has been a breakthrough with the discovery”, Zhang said.

But the decision also comes at a time when the French and Malaysians seem to be at odds over the proof that the found piece, a flaperon, was definitely from MH370.

“We have also found debris like window panes, aluminium foil and seat cushions”, Liow Tiong Lai said.

Furious over Malaysia’s handling of the lost jetliner a day after the country said the passengers must be dead, Chinese relatives marched to the Malaysian embassy in Beijing chanting, “Liars!” “Imagine if you always got the wrong information, maybe today they tell you, ‘We found something, ‘ and three days later they say they’re not sure”.

Australia’s Transport Minister Warren Truss said Australia respected Malaysia’s right to make the call, given it is in charge of the investigation.

Liow said the flaperon’s recovery location was consistent with the drift analysis determined by the experts.

French and Malaysian officials did not share the Americans’ hesitation, though, not least because no other Boeing 777 is unaccounted for.

“Well, it’s news and we hope we might find some more answers but a bit doubtful”, he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

“I can’t trust them”, said Wang Wing Lei, whose parents were aboard the jetliner that disappeared on March 8 past year.

Separately, local authorities where the first piece of debris was found said they would organise a thorough search starting Monday.

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss added that the finding of wreckage on Reunion Island is consistent with the current search area, and so thorough and methodical search efforts will continue there.