A Malaysian transport official has confirmed that aircraft debris found washed up on the shores of Reunion Island is from a Boeing 777.
"From the part number, it is confirmed that it is from a Boeing 777 aircraft. This information is from MAS (Malaysia Airlines). They have informed me," deputy transport minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said.
It is still too early to say if it is part of flight MH370 but no other Boeing 777 is thought to have crashed in the southern hemisphere since they came into service.
Officials lift the wing part found on the shore of Reunion Island
Beijing-bound flight MH370 disappeared from radar with all 239 souls on board on 8 March last year, an hour into its departure from Kuala Lumpur.
It is believed to have crashed 1,800km (1,100 miles) southwest of Australia.
The sea-crusted wing component was found on Wednesday and is set to be brought to mainland France on Saturday morning for a full examination, according to the Paris prosecutor's office. French investigators will analyse the wing part because it was found on French territory.
A French law enforcement helicopter is scouring the waters around Reunion in hopes of spotting more debris like the piece of aircraft wing found on the island in the western Indian Ocean.
A police official said the goal is to "check if there are other pieces of the plane that would have been stranded on the shore."
David Ferreira, an oceanographer at the University of Reading, said the strong currents of the Indian Ocean could conceivably have pushed debris from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 several thousand kilometers (miles ) from the area where it was believed to have gone down.
"On its own, this piece of debris will not do much to narrow down the search area by very much," Ferreira said.
Possible debris found from MH370
Missing Malaysia Plane(01 of24)
In this photo dated Wednesday, July 29, 2015, French police officers look over a piece of debris from a plane in Saint-Andre, Reunion Island. Air safety investigators, one of them a Boeing investigator, have identified the component as a "flaperon" from the trailing edge of a Boeing 777 wing, a U.S. official said. Flight 370, which disappeared March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, is the only 777 known to be missing. (AP Photo/Lucas Marie) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Missing Malaysia Plane(02 of24)
In this photo dated Wednesday, July 29, 2015, French police officers carry a piece of debris from a plane in Saint-Andre, Reunion Island. Air safety investigators, one of them a Boeing investigator, have identified the component as a "flaperon" from the trailing edge of a Boeing 777 wing, a U.S. official said. Flight 370, which disappeared March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, is the only 777 known to be missing. (AP Photo/Lucas Marie) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
FRANCE-OVERSEAS-REUNION-ACCIDENT-AVIATION(03 of24)
Police carry a piece of debris from an unidentified aircraft found in the coastal area of Saint-Andre de la Reunion, in the east of the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, on July 29, 2015. The two-metre-long debris, which appears to be a piece of a wing, was found by employees of an association cleaning the area and handed over to the air transport brigade of the French gendarmerie (BGTA), who have opened an investigation. An air safety expert did not exclude it could be a part of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which went missing in the Indian Ocean on March 8, 2014. AFP PHOTO / YANNICK PITOU (Photo credit should read YANNICK PITOU/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:YANNICK PITOU via Getty Images)
FRANCE-OVERSEAS-REUNION-ACCIDENT-AVIATION-INVESTIGATION(04 of24)
Policemen and gendarmes stand next to a piece of debris from an unidentified aircraft found in the coastal area of Saint-Andre de la Reunion, in the east of the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, on July 29, 2015. The two-metre-long debris, which appears to be a piece of a wing, was found by employees of an association cleaning the area and handed over to the air transport brigade of the French gendarmerie (BGTA), who have opened an investigation. An air safety expert did not exclude it could be a part of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which went missing in the Indian Ocean on March 8, 2014. AFP PHOTO / YANNICK PITOU (Photo credit should read YANNICK PITOU/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:YANNICK PITOU via Getty Images)
FRANCE-OVERSEAS-REUNION-ACCIDENT-AVIATION-INVESTIGATION(05 of24)
A policeman and a gendarme stand next to a piece of debris from an unidentified aircraft found in the coastal area of Saint-Andre de la Reunion, in the east of the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, on July 29, 2015. The two-metre-long debris, which appears to be a piece of a wing, was found by employees of an association cleaning the area and handed over to the air transport brigade of the French gendarmerie (BGTA), who have opened an investigation. An air safety expert did not exclude it could be a part of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which went missing in the Indian Ocean on March 8, 2014. AFP PHOTO / YANNICK PITOU (Photo credit should read YANNICK PITOU/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:YANNICK PITOU via Getty Images)
FRANCE-OVERSEAS-REUNION-ACCIDENT-AVIATION-INVESTIGATION(06 of24)
A policeman and a gendarme stand next to a piece of debris from an unidentified aircraft found in the coastal area of Saint-Andre de la Reunion, in the east of the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, on July 29, 2015. The two-metre-long debris, which appears to be a piece of a wing, was found by employees of an association cleaning the area and handed over to the air transport brigade of the French gendarmerie (BGTA), who have opened an investigation. An air safety expert did not exclude it could be a part of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which went missing in the Indian Ocean on March 8, 2014. AFP PHOTO / YANNICK PITOU (Photo credit should read YANNICK PITOU/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:YANNICK PITOU via Getty Images)
FRANCE-OVERSEAS-REUNION-ACCIDENT-AVIATION-INVESTIGATION(07 of24)
Police and gendarmes carry a piece of debris from an unidentified aircraft found in the coastal area of Saint-Andre de la Reunion, in the east of the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, on July 29, 2015. The two-metre-long debris, which appears to be a piece of a wing, was found by employees of an association cleaning the area and handed over to the air transport brigade of the French gendarmerie (BGTA), who have opened an investigation. An air safety expert did not exclude it could be a part of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which went missing in the Indian Ocean on March 8, 2014. AFP PHOTO / YANNICK PITOU (Photo credit should read YANNICK PITOU/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:YANNICK PITOU via Getty Images)
AUSTRALIA-MALAYSIA-CHINA-AVIATION-MH370-ACCIDENT(08 of24)
Australia's Transport and Infrastructure Minister Warren Truss (L) arrives to speak to the media about MH370, the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, at the airport in Sydney on July 30, 2015. Truss said the discovery of aircraft wreckage in the Indian Ocean was 'a very important development' in the hunt for MH370, and it was feasible debris could have floated to the French island of La Reunion. AFP PHOTO / Peter PARKS (Photo credit should read PETER PARKS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:PETER PARKS via Getty Images)
CHINA-MALAYSIA-AUSTRALIA-AVIATION-MH370-ACCIDENT(09 of24)
Jiang Hui, whose mother is among the passengers on missing Malaysia Airlines MH370, watches a recording of a TV news program about the discovery of part of an airplane wing on the French island of La Reunion, at his home in Beijing on July 31, 2015. Chinese families of those missing on the airliner are waiting to find out if the wing part is from MH370. Meanwhile, Australian authorities on July 31 said the discovery of plane wreckage, even if found to be from MH370, would not narrow down the location of the main debris field or solve the mystery of why the jet crashed. AFP PHOTO / GREG BAKER (Photo credit should read GREG BAKER/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:GREG BAKER via Getty Images)
Reunion Missing Malaysia Plane(10 of24)
Workers for an association responsible for maintaining paths to the beaches from being overgrown by shrubs, search the beach for possible additional airplane debris near the shore where an airplane wing part was washed up, in the early morning near to Saint-Andre on the north coast of the Indian Ocean island of Reunion Friday, July 31, 2015. A barnacle-encrusted wing part that washed up on the remote Indian Ocean island could help solve one of aviation's greatest mysteries, as investigators work to connect it to the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 that vanished more than a year ago with 293 people aboard. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Reunion Missing Malaysia Plane(11 of24)
A beach walker passes near the shore where an airplane wing part was washed up, in the early morning near Saint-Andre on the north coast of the Indian Ocean island of Reunion Friday, July 31, 2015. A barnacle-encrusted wing part that washed up on the remote Indian Ocean island could help solve one of aviation's greatest mysteries, as investigators work to connect it to the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 that vanished more than a year ago with 293 people aboard. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Reunion Missing Malaysia Plane(12 of24)
Workers for an association responsible for maintaining paths to the beaches from being overgrown by shrubs, search the beach for possible additional airplane debris near the area an airplane wing part was washed up, in the early morning near Saint-Andre on the north coast of the Indian Ocean island of Reunion Friday, July 31, 2015. A barnacle-encrusted wing part that washed up on the remote Indian Ocean island could help solve one of aviation's greatest mysteries, as investigators work to connect it to the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 that vanished more than a year ago with 293 people aboard. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Reunion Missing Malaysia Plane(13 of24)
Workers for an association responsible for maintaining paths to the beaches from being overgrown by shrubs, search the beach for possible additional airplane debris near the area where an airplane wing part was washed up, in the early morning near to Saint-Andre on the north coast of the Indian Ocean island of Reunion Friday, July 31, 2015. A barnacle-encrusted wing part that washed up on the remote Indian Ocean island could help solve one of aviation's greatest mysteries, as investigators work to connect it to the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 that vanished more than a year ago with 293 people aboard. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Missing Malaysia Plane(14 of24)
In this photo dated Wednesday, July 29, 2015, French police officers carry a piece of debris from a plane in Saint-Andre, Reunion Island. Air safety investigators, one of them a Boeing investigator, have identified the component as a "flaperon" from the trailing edge of a Boeing 777 wing, a U.S. official said. Flight 370, which disappeared March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, is the only 777 known to be missing. (AP Photo/Lucas Marie) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
APTOPIX Missing Malaysia Plane(15 of24)
In this photo dated Wednesday, July 29, 2015, French police officers inspect a piece of debris from a plane in Saint-Andre, Reunion Island. Air safety investigators, one of them a Boeing investigator, have identified the component as a "flaperon" from the trailing edge of a Boeing 777 wing, a U.S. official said. Flight 370, which disappeared March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, is the only 777 known to be missing. (AP Photo/Lucas Marie) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
APTOPIX Missing Malaysia Plane(16 of24)
In this photo dated Wednesday, July 29, 2015, a piece of debris from a plane is pictured in Saint-Andre, Reunion Island. A 6-foot long piece of an airplane was found off Reunion Island on Wednesday by people cleaning the beach. Air safety investigators, one of them a Boeing investigator, have identified the component as a "flaperon" from the trailing edge of a Boeing 777 wing, a U.S. official said. Flight 370, which disappeared March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, is the only 777 known to be missing. (AP Photo) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Missing Malaysia Plane(17 of24)
This image taken from video shows a piece of debris from a plane, Wednesday, July 29, 2015, in Saint-Andre, Reunion. Air safety investigators, one of them a Boeing investigator, have identified the component as a "flaperon" from the trailing edge of a Boeing 777 wing, a U.S. official said. Flight 370, which disappeared March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, is the only 777 known to be missing. (Reunion 1ere via AP) FRANCE OUT (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Missing Malaysia Plane(18 of24)
In this image taken from video, police officers looking over a piece of debris from a plane, Wednesday, July 29, 2015, in Saint-Andre, Reunion. Air safety investigators, one of them a Boeing investigator, have identified the component as a "flaperon" from the trailing edge of a Boeing 777 wing, a U.S. official said. Flight 370, which disappeared March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, is the only 777 known to be missing. (Reunion 1ere via AP) FRANCE OUT (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Missing Malaysia Plane(19 of24)
In this his image taken from video, police officers looking at a piece of debris from a plane, Wednesday, July 29, 2015, in Saint-Andre, Reunion. Air safety investigators, one of them a Boeing investigator, have identified the component as a "flaperon" from the trailing edge of a Boeing 777 wing, a U.S. official said. Flight 370, which disappeared March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, is the only 777 known to be missing. (Reunion 1ere via AP) FRANCE OUT (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
APTOPIX Missing Malaysia Plane(20 of24)
This image taken from video, shows a piece of debris from a plane, Wednesday, July 29, 2015, in Saint-Andre, Reunion. Air safety investigators, one of them a Boeing investigator, have identified the component as a "flaperon" from the trailing edge of a Boeing 777 wing, a U.S. official said. Flight 370, which disappeared March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, is the only 777 known to be missing. (Reunion 1ere via AP) FRANCE OUT (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Reunion Missing Malaysia Plane(21 of24)
Johnny Begue, 46, who says he found the piece of aircraft debris that is being investigated, is interviewed by The Associated Press in Saint-Andre, on Reunion Island, Thursday July 30, 2015. The fragment may be the first clue to what happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared last year with 293 people aboard. Massive search efforts have failed to find any sign of the plane, and authorities are analyzing the piece to see if it matches the missing plane. (AP Photo/Andrew Meldrum) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Missing Malaysia Plane(22 of24)
People walk on the beach of Saint-Andre, Reunion Island, in the hope of finding more plane debris, Thursday, July 30, 2015. A 6-foot long piece of an airplane was found off Reunion Island on Wednesday by people cleaning the beach. Air safety investigators, one of them a Boeing investigator, have identified the component as a "flaperon" from the trailing edge of a Boeing 777 wing, a U.S. official said. Flight 370, which disappeared March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, is the only 777 known to be missing. (AP Photo/Fabrice Wislez) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Large piece of plane debris discovered in Indian Ocean(23 of24)
ANKARA, TURKEY - JULY 30: Debris found on the island of Reunion east of Madagascar, appears to be part of Malaysia Airlines MH370 that disappeared in 2014. (Photo by Graphic: Ahmet Burak Ozkan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Missing Malaysia Plane(24 of24)
A French law enforcement helicopter flies over the beach in Saint-Andre, Reunion Island, in the hope of finding more plane debris, Thursday, July 30, 2015. A 6-foot long piece of an airplane was found off Reunion Island on Wednesday by people cleaning the beach. Air safety investigators, one of them a Boeing investigator, have identified the component as a "flaperon" from the trailing edge of a Boeing 777 wing, a U.S. official said. Flight 370, which disappeared March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, is the only 777 known to be missing. (AP Photo/Fabrice Wislez) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)