Plane debris to be probed in France

MH370 enigma swirls

 Saint-André

 Plane wreckage washed up on an Indian Ocean Island will be sent to France for investigation, as hopes mounted yesterday the mysterious object could unlock the riddle of missing flight MH370.

 Several experts were convinced the debris was a flaperon from the wing of a Boeing 777, which if proven meant it almost certainly belonged to the Malaysia Airlines plane whose disappearance 16 months ago sparked one of aviation's greatest mysteries.

 The two-metre (six-foot) long piece of wreckage washed up on a rocky beach on the French island of La Reunion, some 4,000 kilometres (2,500 miles) from the area where flight MH370 was thought to have gone down in March last year with 239 people on board.

 However, scientists say there are several plausible scenarios in which ocean currents could have carried a piece of debris from the plane to the island.

 As Malaysian investigators rushed to the scene, authorities prepared to send the object to France for further examination.

 Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the wreckage found on the French island of La Reunion was "very likely" from a Boeing 777, but it remained to be seen if it indeed came from MH370.

 However, as expectations mounted over the find, authorities warned against jumping to conclusions.

 "Whatever wreckage is found needs to be further verified before we can further confirm whether it belongs to MH370," said Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai.

 Flight MH370 was travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing when it mysteriously turned off course and vanished on March 8 last year.

 Local government officials on La Reunion said France's civil aviation investigating authority BEA has been asked to coordinate an international probe into the origin of the debris.

 Najib said authorities would send the object to the southern French city of Toulouse to be examined by the BEA, however French sources close to the investigation said it has not been decided where the debris would be analysed in France.