Police carry a piece of debris from an unidentified aircraft found on the Saint-Andre region of the Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, on July 29, 2015. PHOTO: AFP
KUALA LUMPUR: A part number on a piece of aircraft wreckage found in the Indian Ocean confirms the object is from a Boeing 777, a Malaysian transport official said on Friday.
"From the part number, it is confirmed that it is from a Boeing 777 aircraft. This information is from MAS (Malaysia Airlines). They have informed me," Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi told AFP.
On Thursday, aviation investigators headed to the French Indian Ocean island of Le Reunion to determine whether a piece of plane wreckage that washed up on its shores was part of missing flight MH370.
Read: Investigators scramble to analyse wreckage for MH370 link
The two-metre (six-foot) long piece of wreckage, which appeared to be part of a wing, was found Wednesday by people cleaning up a beach.
Johnny Begue, a member of a local shore cleaning association, displays the remains of a suitcase found along with a piece of plane wreckage on July 30, 2015 in Saint-Andre, La Reunion. PHOTO: AFPThe discovery fuelled hopes in Malaysia and across the globe that one of aviation history’s greatest mysteries could move closer to being solved, but authorities and Malaysia Airlines warned against jumping to conclusions.
The plane had vanished at night over the South China Sea after mysteriously diverting from its north-bound route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.
Read: Search for MH370: Sightings boost ‘hope’ for missing Malaysia plane
Authorities involved in an Australian-led search believed it diverted for some unknown reason to the southern Indian Ocean, where it went down.
But no physical evidence had ever been found and Malaysian authorities in January declared that all on board were presumed dead.
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