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MH370 Search: Metal Object 'From Ladder'

A metal object found washed up on Reunion Island and thought to be from the missing plane MH370 may be a domestic ladder, an official says.

Pictures taken before police took the object away showed a twisted piece of metal with symbols etched into it, with a handle that looks as if it is made from leather or plastic.

Sky's David Bowden said the item had Chinese and Malaysian writing on it and was originally thought to be from the inside of an aircraft.

But a Malaysian official - thought to be on the island as part of a search for debris from the doomed flight - has told the Reuters news agency that the object belongs to a "domestic ladder", not a plane part.

Bowden said it was discovered in a different location to the flaperon which has now been revealed to be part of a Boeing 777, following tests in France.

MH370 is the only missing Boeing 777.

The flaperon was found on a beach in the town of Saint-Andre. Bowden said the new object was found closer to the capital Saint-Denis.

The object was taken away by police in an aluminium case that was just over 30cm (one foot) long.

Bowden said when he approached the officers on Reunion who took the item away he was told: "No comment."

It was earlier thought that the object found was the door of a plane, but Bowden said that did not now appear to be the case.

Malaysian officials, who have now reached La Reunion, released a statement saying they want to expand the area being searched for debris to other aviation authorities in other parts of the Indian Ocean.

Some reports overnight claimed that debris that could have come from the plane washed up previously on beaches on La Reunion had been burned because it was not thought significant.

MH370 disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014.

The latest find comes as the wing part that was found earlier on Reunion arrived at a French laboratory for analysis.

The debris, which was first flown to Paris, was driven to a military base near Toulouse, which specialises in analysing aviation wreckage.

Air accident experts will examine the wreckage to determine whether it belongs to MH370.

If confirmed, the discovery could offers hope of an explanation to the families and loved ones of the 239 missing passengers and crew.

Aviation experts say the component may have stayed afloat due to air pockets in its structure and is almost certainly part of a Boeing 777.

Experts will attempt to verify the serial number of the wing-flap before conducting further tests to establish why it separated from the rest of the plane.

Investigators believe someone on board MH370 may have switched off its transponder, which allows it to be located, before flying it thousands of miles away from its intended course.