Malaysian Official: More Debris Has Been Found

However, Kiow Tiong Lai stopped short of saying the items were from MH370, adding that “I can only ascertain that it’s plane debris“.

MH370 went missing on March 8, 2014 with 239 people on board. It has been declared missing after losing radio contact with the ground shortly after take-off.

Most experts believe it crashed into the Indian Ocean.

Hua Chunying, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, also said in a statement that Malaysian authorities must conduct further investigations so as to “earnestly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests” of the families of the victims – most of whom are Chinese nationals.

France will from tomorrow deploy new air and maritime resources off the remote Indian Ocean island of Reunion in the search for more wreckage from the ill-fated MH370 flight, government officials said.

The wreckage, from a wing component called a flaperon, “does seem to indicate that the plane did come down, more or less where we thought it did, and it suggests that for the first time we might be a little bit closer to solving this baffling mystery”, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said. Dai Shuqin, the sister of one of the passengers, was among about a dozen Chinese relatives who held a demonstration outside Malaysia Airlines’ offices in Beijing.

China is calling for further investigations into the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 after debris of the aircraft washed up to Reunion Island.

After the Malaysian PM officially confirmed the wing was from MH370, relatives were informed of the findings by Malaysian Airlines. “The very strong conjectures are to be confirmed by complementary analysis that will begin tomorrow morning”, French prosecutor Serge Mackowiak told the AP.

From Paris, reporter Jake Cigainero tells our Newscast unit that French authorities believe the debris could be linked to the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

“They want to continue with additional tests”.

The Australian-led search team, the Joint Agency Coordination Centre, said it will not change its course of searching the waters off the Western Australia coastline despite the discovery on Reunion Island, some 2,500 miles away. “I can not confirm that it’s from MH370”.

He said the U.S. hopes that the debris that was discovered on Reunion Island – if it is found to be conclusively from the aircraft – will help to bring some sense of closure.

He also commended the French authorities and other worldwide experts for their diligence in the analysis of the wing as well as in the ongoing search.