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Category: Disasters and Accidents / Air Transport

Debris found in Mozambique 'almost certainly' from MH370

Thursday, 24 Mar 2016 09:43:39 | Stephanie Anderson

The metre-long chunk was found by a US adventurer. (AFP: Australian Transport Safety Bureau/Blaine Gibson)

Debris recovered from the African nation of Mozambique is highly likely to have come from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, the Australian Government has confirmed.

The flight disappeared with 239 passengers and crew on board, shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur two years ago.

Wreckage was discovered along the southern coast of Africa earlier this week and Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester said the Malaysian investigation team had finished its examination of the two pieces of debris.

In a statement, Mr Chester said that both pieces of debris were consistent with panels from a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 aircraft.

"The analysis has concluded the debris is almost certainly from MH370," Mr Chester said.

"That such debris has been found on the east coast of Africa is consistent with drift modelling performed by CSIRO and further affirms our search efforts in the southern Indian Ocean."

It is believed the plane crashed in the Indian Ocean and an initial search of a 60,000 square kilometres area of sea floor now extends to 120,000 square km.

A piece of the plane's wing washed up on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion, on the other side of Madagascar, in July 2015.

Until today only that piece, known as a flaperon, had been confirmed to belong to the missing plane.

The Mozambique discovery was made by American tourist Blaine Gibson conducting his own search for the wreckage, American media reported.

It was found in an area consistent with drift modelling commissioned by the ATSB, Mr Chester said earlier this month.

The Australian-led Indian Ocean hunt is expected to finish scouring a designated deep-sea zone by July, and authorities plan to end the search if nothing is found.

Possible MH370 wreckage Photo: A close-up image of debris found by Blaine Gibson on Mozambique. (Supplied: Aircrash Support Group Australia)

ABC/Reuters

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