More Suspected Debris Found in La Reunion before MH370 Verification
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Experts in Paris will launch an examination Wednesday to verify whether a washed-up plane part is from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, as another piece of suspected wreckage was found in the northern coast of French overseas Island La Reunion.
Police arrived at the beach east of Saint-Denis, capital of La Reunion, and carried the item away, Xinhua reported on Wednesday citing local media.
According to a picture provided by a witness, the newly found debris was an approximate 30*30cm square frame, with all its edges and corners round-shaped.
Local media said it looks like a porthole frame of a plane. However, nothing indicated that it has relation to a flight so far, and La Reunion police didn't comment on the find.
The finder reportedly discovered another piece of metallic wreckage last Sunday at the same area, local news website LINFO.RE said.
However, that debris, with two Chinese characters monogrammed on it, was tested to have nothing to do with an aircraft.
The coastline of La Reunion Island in the western Indian Ocean is being scoured for more debris that could be linked to MH370.
A high-level police source who wanted to be anonymous told Xinhua that the local police have received dozens of reports on found debris since the finding of the first piece of wreckage last Wednesday.
Further out across the ocean, authorities of other islands -- Mauritius and the Seychelles -- said they are on the lookout for items bobbing in the waves that might be from the lost jetliner.
The wreckage found last Wednesday and a piece of luggage bearing a burnt patch and bottles picked up one day later had been sent to France on Saturday for further investigation.
Experts identified the debris as a flaperon from a Boeing 777, but did not confirm if it is part of the Malaysian jetliner, which disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, with a total of 239 people on board, most of them Chinese.
Transferred to Toulouse, France, the debris is expected to undergo an examination at the military-run General Directorate of Armaments which will last for several weeks.
Jean-Paul Troadec, ex-director of France's civil aviation safety bureau BEA, said the analysis would focus on two issues -- whether the flaperon belongs to MH370 and if so, whether it can shed light on the final moments of the plane.
Nevertheless, he said, the analysis was highly unlikely to give any clues as to why the plane mysteriously diverted off course.
"One should not expect miracles," Troadec said.
Wang Ya'nan, deputy editor-in-chief of China's Aerospace Knowledge magazine, also said a piece of debris alone could hardly resolve the riddle of a plane crash.
If the flaperon is confirmed to belong to MH370, more efforts should be made for the search operation in waters near Madagascar, he said, adding that more clues could be acquired once other pieces of debris are found.
In Sydney, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said an official statement on whether the flaperon is from MH370 is expected this week.
"Malaysian and French officials may be in a position to make a formal statement about the origin of the flaperon later this week," he said.
An expert from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is coordinating the search for the ill-fated jet, would be involved in examining the wing part when the case containing it is opened, he added.
Truss said that as Australia's national science agency, CSIRO, had confirmed drift modelling showed debris could have been carried by wind and currents to La Reunion, his country will continue hunting for the main debris field in the southern Indian Ocean.
"For this reason, thorough and methodical search efforts will continue to be focused on the defined underwater search area, covering 120,000 square kms, in the southern Indian Ocean," he said.
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that no matter what the result of the verification will be, China and Malaysia will continue to shoulder their due responsibilities.
The two countries will responsibly give further instruction and explanation to the next-of-kins of the passengers aboard MH370 according to the result of the verification, Wang said on the sidelines of an ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
China and Malaysia will also urge and instruct related authorities to carry out the next phase of work, including dealing with the aftermath of the accident, he said.