MH370: Island Coast Searched For More Debris

A police helicopter is scouring Reunion Island for more debris as experts prepare to analyse a potential wing part and suitcase that could be from Flight MH370.

An official on the Indian Ocean island said a helicopter is checking "if there are other pieces of the plane that would have been stranded on the shore".

A two-metre-long chunk, resembling a wing part, was dragged out of the sea on Wednesday .

Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak said initial reports suggest it is "very likely to be from a Boeing 777" .

Aviation experts have identified the debris from photos as a wing flaperon, used to control the plane's roll and provide extra lift or drag.

The remains of what could be a suitcase were also found on the same stretch of rocky beach, in the town of Saint Andre.

Reunion Island is 2,500 miles west of the current search area off the Australian coast.

Oceanographers say currents could have swept the debris such a distance - but even if confirmed as part of MH370 it is unlikely to shed any light on where the plane came down.

"It's going to be hard to say with any certainty where the source of this was," said John Goglia, a former member of the US National Transportation Safety Board.

"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."

The debris is set to be flown from La Reunion to the French city of Toulouse on Friday.

A source close to the investigation told Reuters: "We're trying to get the debris of wing and the bag fragment sent off as soon as possible, if possible Friday, arriving probably on Saturday,"

Experts are expected to be able to use a code on the wing piece to quickly ascertain if it is from the Malaysia Airlines plane.

French TV showed images of the debris bearing the mark "657 BB".

That matches with a code in the Boeing 777 manual for a right-wing flaperon, according to a document posted on aviation websites.

It will be examined at a special defence facility used for aircraft testing and analysis, according to France's Defence Ministry.

MH370 disappeared on 8 March 2014 on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, mainly Chinese citizens.

Investigators believe it headed south into the Indian Ocean after disappearing from radar off the Thailand coast.

Australia has been leading the hunt for the plane, using sonar to trawl a massive expanse of ocean some 1,000 miles off its west coast.

"It doesn't rule out our current search area if this were associated with MH370," said Martin Dolan, the head of the country's transport safety bureau.

Mr Razak is also hoping the find might provide some comfort to relatives.

"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," said Mr Razak.

Johnny Begue, one of the beach cleaners who pulled the debris out of the sea, said he would return to the beach on Friday.

"We are going out in the morning to start making a memorial. We will use stones and maybe plant some flowers at the site.

"We want to show respect for the people who died."