Investigators from around the world are descending upon the tiny French island of Reunion after plane debris suspected to have come from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 washed ashore.
The Beijing-bound Boeing 777 disappeared from radar with all 239 souls on board on 8 March last year, an hour into its departure from Kuala Lumpur.
In summary:
- The plane wreckage that was washed up on the African coast matches MH370.
- Australian Transport Minister Warren Truss said that they are treating the recent discovery "as a major lead".
- A suitcase was found on Thursday morning near the wing piece on Reunion Island. It has been reported that the luggage has been "there for a day" - the same day the aircraft debris was spotted.
- The debris is being taken to the French authorities in Toulouse for investigation by civil aviation investigators.
- Malaysia's Prime Minister, Najib Razak, wrote in a personal blog that the families of those lost on the flight have had many "false alarms" before, but he hopes they will "find out the truth so that they may have closure and peace".
Here are live updates on the discovery.
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)
If the sea-crusted piece of debris is confirmed to belong to MH370, it could help investigators figure out how the aircraft crashed, but whether it will help search crews pinpoint the rest of the wreckage is unclear, given the complexity of the currents in the southern Indian Ocean and the time that has elapsed since the plane disappeared.
A massive multinational search effort of the southern Indian Ocean, the China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand has turned up no trace of the plane.
The last primary radar contact with Flight 370 placed its position over the Andaman Sea about 370 kilometers (230 miles) northwest of the Malaysian city of Penang. Reunion is about 5,600 kilometers (3,500 miles) southwest of Penang, and about 4,200 kilometers (2,600 miles) west of the current search area.
It was understood after the aircraft disappeared that if there was any floating debris from the plane, Indian Ocean currents would eventually bring it to the east coast of Africa, said aviation safety expert John Goglia, a former member of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. But the debris is unlikely to provide much help in tracing the ocean currents back to the location of the main wreckage, he said.
"It's going to be hard to say with any certainty where the source of this was," he said. "It just confirms that the airplane is in the water and hasn't been hijacked to some remote place and is waiting to be used for some other purpose. ... We haven't lost any 777s anywhere else."
MH370: What we know for sure
The pilots' final conversation showed nothing 'abnormal'(01 of05)
Malaysian authorities released transcripts of the crew's final exchange with air traffic control, saying it showed nothing irregular. The last words were: "Good night, Malaysian 370." (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The plane changed direction - but we don't know why(02 of05)
Investigators say they believe the plane turned south after its final radar contact and flew over the southern Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have crashed. (credit:Getty Images)
No trace of the plane has been found(03 of05)
Despite an exhaustive air and sea search, no trace of the plane has yet been found, due to the size of the area and the depth of the ocean being searched. The search thought it had detected 'pings' from the plane's black box but these may have been from another source and the area they came from was later ruled out as the plane's final resting place. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
If human action brought the plane down, the pilot is a suspect(04 of05)
Pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah (pictured top right next to co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid) had no social plans or engagements after March 8, the day the plane vanished. Shah also programmed flights far into the southern Indian Ocean - the plane's most likely resting place - on the flight simulator at his home. The rest of the crew all passed security checks, it was reported. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The search will take a long time(05 of05)
Within weeks of MH370 disappearing, authorities warned the search could take "years". The initial sea and air search has been called off but oceanographers are mapping the ocean floor in preparation for a one-year search that will begin late this month to find the wreckage. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)