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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
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| MH370 search: Reunion debris 'very likely' part of plane | MH370 search: Reunion debris 'very likely' part of plane |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Debris found on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion is "very likely" to be from the missing flight MH370, a top Australian official has told the BBC. | Debris found on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion is "very likely" to be from the missing flight MH370, a top Australian official has told the BBC. |
| Martin Dolan, who heads Australia's search efforts, also said the operation was continuing "in the right place" in the southern part of the ocean. | Martin Dolan, who heads Australia's search efforts, also said the operation was continuing "in the right place" in the southern part of the ocean. |
| The wreckage, said to be a wing part, is to be flown to France for analysis. | The wreckage, said to be a wing part, is to be flown to France for analysis. |
| The Malaysia Airlines flight - a Boeing 777 travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing - vanished in March 2014. | The Malaysia Airlines flight - a Boeing 777 travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing - vanished in March 2014. |
| There were 239 passengers and crew on board the plane when it went missing. | There were 239 passengers and crew on board the plane when it went missing. |
| Will this solve aviation mystery? | Will this solve aviation mystery? |
| Reaction from relatives | Reaction from relatives |
| French examination | French examination |
| The debris washed up on Reunion island on Wednesday, some 4,000km (2,500 miles) from the area where MH370 is thought to have gone down. | The debris washed up on Reunion island on Wednesday, some 4,000km (2,500 miles) from the area where MH370 is thought to have gone down. |
| Mr Dolan, who heads the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, told the BBC that he was "increasingly confident that the wreckage... is associated with a 777 aircraft". | Mr Dolan, who heads the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, told the BBC that he was "increasingly confident that the wreckage... is associated with a 777 aircraft". |
| Aviation experts who have studied photos of the debris say it resembles a flaperon - a moving part of the wing surface - from a Boeing 777. | Aviation experts who have studied photos of the debris say it resembles a flaperon - a moving part of the wing surface - from a Boeing 777. |
| "There is no other recorded case of a flaperon being lost from a Boeing 777," Mr Dolan said. | "There is no other recorded case of a flaperon being lost from a Boeing 777," Mr Dolan said. |
| "We are confident we have the quality of the search to cover that area and find the missing aircraft," he added. | "We are confident we have the quality of the search to cover that area and find the missing aircraft," he added. |
| However, Mr Dolan also said the discovery of debris would not help pinpoint where the plane went down. | However, Mr Dolan also said the discovery of debris would not help pinpoint where the plane went down. |
| "Over the last 16 or 17 months, any floating debris would have dispersed quite markedly across the Indian Ocean," he told the AFP news agency. | "Over the last 16 or 17 months, any floating debris would have dispersed quite markedly across the Indian Ocean," he told the AFP news agency. |
| Guided by signals from the plane that were detected by satellite, authorities believe it went down in the southern Indian Ocean. | Guided by signals from the plane that were detected by satellite, authorities believe it went down in the southern Indian Ocean. |
| However, no physical evidence of this has ever been found and in January Malaysian authorities declared that all on board were presumed dead. | However, no physical evidence of this has ever been found and in January Malaysian authorities declared that all on board were presumed dead. |
| Location of a flaperon on a Boeing 777 | Location of a flaperon on a Boeing 777 |
| Earlier, Australian officials and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the location of the debris was consistent with drift analysis provided to investigators. | Earlier, Australian officials and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the location of the debris was consistent with drift analysis provided to investigators. |
| The wreckage is expected to arrive in Paris early on Saturday and then be taken to a special facility in the city of Toulouse. French media quote officials as saying it will be examined by experts next week. | |
| The BBC's Chris Bockman in Toulouse says aviation authorities have a huge hangar facility to store and study wreckage - as they did with the Air France airliner that crashed on its way from Brazil to Paris in 2009. | The BBC's Chris Bockman in Toulouse says aviation authorities have a huge hangar facility to store and study wreckage - as they did with the Air France airliner that crashed on its way from Brazil to Paris in 2009. |
| BBC transport correspondent Richard Westcott says the object may have a data tag with a serial number that could be directly traceable to MH370. Even if there is no tag, it should have a traceable manufacturer's stamp, he adds. | BBC transport correspondent Richard Westcott says the object may have a data tag with a serial number that could be directly traceable to MH370. Even if there is no tag, it should have a traceable manufacturer's stamp, he adds. |
| Simulation of where debris in search area could end up | Simulation of where debris in search area could end up |
| Missing Malaysia plane: What we know | Missing Malaysia plane: What we know |
| MH370: Behind the tenacious deep-sea hunt for missing plane | MH370: Behind the tenacious deep-sea hunt for missing plane |