France steps up Reunion island search for MH370 wreckage

Malaysia, which asked for assistance from France in its search for more debris on Reunion Island, also appealed to the governments of Mauritius, about 140 miles northeast of Reunion, and Madagascar, to help widen the search.

French aircraft will fly over the area on Friday morning, the statement added, saying that a foot patrol and a research helicopter mission are also planned.

Najib said early on Thursday that wing wreckage found on the island was from the plane, though French investigators said only there was a very high probability it came from the Boeing 777.

KUALA LUMPUR/BEIJING Angry relatives of Chinese passengers aboard a Malaysia Airlines plane missing for more than a year clashed with police in Beijing on Friday as French officials extended the search for debris on remote Indian Ocean island beaches.

In Beijing, about 30 Chinese relatives of Flight 370 passengers marched to the Malaysian Embassy hoping to talk to an official about why Malaysia confirmed the part came from the plane when French investigators had not.

“We believe it is important for global civil aviation, generally, for us to determine what happened for this flight, as well as provide the opportunity for families of those on board to have some closure”, she said.

This comes a day after it was confirmed by Malaysia’s prime minister that part of a wing found there was from the flight that is presumed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.

Frustrated by seemingly mixed messages from the Malaysian and French governments over whether debris definitely linked to the missing Boeing 777, the 50-strong group attempted to gain entry to the building to demand an explanation from officials.

Liow said a Malaysian team found the objects, including a window and some aluminum foil, but an aide to the minister later said it was “window material” rather than a window that was recovered.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak made a definitive statement this week that a wing part found on Reunion Island belonged to the doomed airliner.

“We want to go to the island and see the truth”, he said.

“I can only ascertain that it’s plane debris”, Mr Liow said.

Australia’s Transport Minister Warren Truss said Australia respected Malaysia’s right to make the call, given it is in charge of the investigation. Dominique Sorain, the top government official in Reunion, told reporters that a military transport plane was patrolling the seas off the coast and a ship had also departed before being forced to return due to bad weather.

While confirming ocean-borne debris from the plane is an important threshold for many relatives, it will be hard for some to fully come to terms with the disaster without seeing the body of their loved one, said Nancy Smyth, a University of Buffalo sociologist focusing on psychological trauma.