MH370: Plane debris 'very likely' from a Boeing 777 - Najib

The Prime Minister in a statement on his Facebook page today, however stated that it was too early to speculate.

“Initial reports suggest that the debris is very likely to be from a Boeing 777, but we need to verify whether it is from flight MH370. At this stage it is too early to speculate,” stated Najib.

Two teams have been deployed to verify whether plane debris washed up on Reunion Island could be part of MH370. One team had been sent to Toulouse, site of the nearest office of the BEA, the French authority responsible for civil aviation accident investigations and while another to Reunion Island.

“A Malaysian team is on the way to Toulouse now. It includes senior representatives from the Ministry of Transport, the Department of Civil Aviation, the MH370 investigation team, and Malaysia Airline.

“Simultaneously, a second Malaysian team is travelling to where the debris was found on Reunion,” stated Najib.

He added verification on the discovery would be made public as soon as more information is received.

“We have had many false alarms before, but for the sake of the families who have lost loved ones, and suffered such heartbreaking uncertainty, I pray that we will find out the truth so that they may have closure and peace.

“I promise the families of those lost that whatever happens, we will not give up,” stated Najib.

The two-meter (six-foot) long piece of wreckage, which seemed to be part of a wing, was found by people cleaning up a beach.

The Boeing 777-200ER carrying 239 passengers, mostly Chinese, and crew, was scheduled to land in Beijing at 6:30 am on March 8, 2014. It is believed to have ended in the Indian Ocean.