Kuala Lumpur (dpa) – Plane debris washed up on an island off the
eastern coast of Africa was being tested Thursday, as speculation
grew that it could come from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
The Beijing-bound flight, with 239 people aboard, disappeared on
March 8 last year, about an hour after it took off from Kuala Lumpur
International Airport.
The Australian minister in charge of the underwater search for the
plane said it was a “realistic possibility” that the wreckage washed
up on Reunion Island was from the missing aircraft.
Australian authorities were reacting to the find as a “major lead,”
Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Warren Truss told a
press conference.
Reunion Island is a French territory east of Madagascar, over 5,000
kilometres from the area where a vast Australia-led search for the
plane is taking place.
The plane was thought to have crashed into the Indian Ocean, but its
exact location and the reason for its disappearance is a mystery.
A Malaysian government team was being sent to Reunion where the
2-metre-long piece of debris was found, covered in small shells.
A Malaysian Transport Ministry official, who wished not to be named,
quoted government experts as saying it was “nearly certain” that the
part came from a Boeing 777, the same type of plane as MH370.
However, the ministry said in a statement that “until there is
tangible and irrefutable evidence” it would be “premature to
speculate” about the origin of the debris.
“This is to ensure that we do not raise false hope for the loved ones
of the victims of MH370,” it added.
Truss said that a number found imprinted on what appears to be a wing
flap, called a flaperon, was not a serial number or registration
number, but it may be a maintenance number which could help identify
where it came from.
Truss said marine biologists in Australia are also examining photos
of the barnacles on the two metre long flaperon to see if it could
have been in ocean water for the 16 months since the flight
disappeared with 269 people on board.
Malaysia Airlines said earlier Thursday it was too early to tell
whether the debris came from MH370.
“Malaysia Airlines is working with the relevant authorities to
confirm the matter,” the company said in a statement.
“At the moment, it would be too premature for the airline to
speculate [on] the origin of the flaperon,” it added.
Citing a source close to the investigation, US-based broadcaster CNN
reported that officials from manufacturer Boeing made an initial
assessment that the part found on Reunion appeared to be part of a
wing from the company’s 777s.
Source: African News Agency
