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MH370 debris: Investigators 'confident' that Boeing 777 wing found - as it happened

Experts believe it could be part of the plane that disappeared over a year ago

Lizzie Dearden
Friday 31 July 2015 08:31 BST
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Police carry the debris from the unidentified aircraft from the area where it was discovered
Police carry the debris from the unidentified aircraft from the area where it was discovered (YANNICK PITOU/AFP)

Part of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 may have been found in the Indian Ocean more than a year after the plane disappeared. Here are the latest updates:

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Air safety investigators have identified the white chunk of debris, found on the island of Reunion in the western Indian Ocean, as a “flaperon” from the trailing edge of a Boeing 777 wing.

If it can be proved to be from MH370, it will be the first confirmation that it crashed into the Indian Ocean after vanishing from radar on 8 March last year with 239 people on board.

The mystery of what happened to the plane from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing has sparked endless conspiracy theories and anguish for families who have struggled to find closure over their loved ones' deaths.

A massive multinational search effort of the southern Indian Ocean, the China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand in the months after the tragedy turned up no trace of the plane and all passengers and crew were eventually declared dead.

The last radar contact placed the aircraft over the Andaman Sea about 230 miles north-west of the Malaysian city of Penang.

The French island of Reunion is about 3,500 miles south-west of Penang and about 2,600 miles away from the current search area.

Malaysian investigators have been sent to verify the wreckage but even if they can prove it came from MH370, Australia's seabed search is likely to continue.

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