MH 370 search: Debris found in Mauritius to be examined

A piece of suspected aeroplane debris found on a Mauritian island will be examined by investigators to see if it is part of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Australian officials have said.

Australia has led the search for the plane, which went missing in March 2014 with 239 people on board on a flight from the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, to Beijing, and the transport minister, Darren Chester, said the debris, reportedly found on Thursday, was an “item of interest”.

A hotel owner on the island who saw the debris said it looked like it was from the inside of a plane, which if confirmed to be from MH370, would be the first piece of interior debris from the plane. 

"The Malaysian Government is working with officials from Mauritius to seek to take custody of the debris and arrange for its examination," Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester said in a statement.

"This debris is an item of interest. However, until the debris has been examined by experts it is not possible to ascertain its origin."

The debris was found on Rodrigues Island, about 560km (350 miles) east of the main island of Mauritius.

Australia has led the search for the plane, which went missing in March 2014 with 239 people on board during a flight from the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, to Beijing.

The plane is still missing. 

Last month, Australian officials said two pieces of debris found along the coast of Mozambique were "almost certainly" from the aircraft and in 2015 French authorities said a wing found on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion was part of the plane.

More than 95,000 square kilometres of a 120,000 square kilometre target zone had been searched. The entire zone is due to be covered by June, when the search is scheduled to end.