Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has confirmed plane wreckage found on Reunion Island is from Malaysia Airlines flight 370.
The find comes 16 months after the plane disappeared while en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 passengers on board, including six Australians.
Mr Najib said the burden faced by families was “unspeakable”, and thanked those who had participated in the search.
“It is with a very heavy heart that I must tell you that an international team of experts have conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on Reunion Island is indeed from MH370,” Mr Najib said.
“It is my hope that this confirmation, however tragic and painful, will at least bring certainty to the families and loved ones to the 239 people on board MH370. They have our deepest sympathy and prayers.”
The debris, a Boeing 777 wing fragment known as a “flaperon”, was found on Reunion Island last week and then transported to France for further investigation.
Paris Deputy Prosecutor Serge Mackowiak added there was a “very strong supposition” that the flaperon belonged to MH370, but fell short of an outright confirmation.
It is hoped that the discovery of one piece of wreckage from MH370 will enable search crews to make more accurate estimations of the search area. The recovered flaperon is being examined by experts in the city of Toulouse. However, reports differ on how useful the plane fragment will be in current search efforts.
Bottom line from Oz team leading search for #Mh370 is debris found will do little to define current search area more accurately.
— Jon Donnison (@jondonnisonbbc) August 5, 2015
Investigators are still faced with the biggest question: what caused MH370 to divert from its course before disappearing? The Malaysian prime minister gave no indication this mystery would be solved by recent findings.
Malaysian authorities have faced accusations from families of a cover up, as well as the accusation that they have treated families insensitively. There were protests in May after authorities and Malaysia Airlines withdrew operations of the MH370 Family Communication and Support Centres in China.
Many continue to demand answers.
PHOTO: Reuters
