Mauritius scours remote islands in MH370 debris hunt

Mauritius said Friday it was scouring its Indian Ocean waters in an ongoing search for debris from missing flight MH370, after wreckage washed up on the nearby island of Reunion.

Two police aircraft have made several search flights over the sea, police spokesman Indira Bhugobaun told AFP.

Police officers with the coastguard service were also helping in the search at sea around the country's main island, as well as around more remote islands, including the Agalega islands, some 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) northwards.

Searches were also ongoing around the sandbank archipelago of St Brandon, some 430 kilometres northeast from the main island, as well as Rodrigues some 560 kilometres east.

Prime Minister Xavier-Luc Duval launched the search on Monday, with appeals made to private boats and fishermen to inform police if they sighted any possible wreckage.

Mauritius police said the search has so far found nothing.

France said Friday it would launch new air, land and sea searches from Reunion -- some 225 kilometres southwest of Mauritius -- in the hope of finding more wreckage from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.

The re-energised hunt for MH370 clues follows Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's announcement that a two-metre-long wing part discovered on the French island last week was confirmed as from the missing aircraft, the first proof that it met a tragic end 17 months ago.