Accessibility links

Breaking News

Reunion Police, Army Halt MH370 Debris Search


President Donald Trump delivers a speech at Krasinski Square at the Royal Castle, July 6, 2017, in Warsaw, Poland.
President Donald Trump delivers a speech at Krasinski Square at the Royal Castle, July 6, 2017, in Warsaw, Poland.

The police and army on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion have called off their search for more debris from the wreckage of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, which vanished last year, police said on Monday.

A piece of wing was found on the shore of the French-governed island last month and Malaysian authorities have said paint color and maintenance-record matches proved it came from the missing Boeing 777 aircraft.

Ten days of searching involving an army plane, two helicopters and a police speedboat have not found any more wreckage. Washed-up objects including water bottles have been passed on to investigators in case they can be linked to the plane, police said.

"The statistical chances of discovering debris from the MH370 during coordinated searches appear to be extremely small," Reunion police said, adding that they would continue to be vigilant.

The piece of wing, known as a flaperon, was the first real clue in what has become one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history.

French gendarmes and police carry a large piece of plane debris which was found on the beach in Saint-Andre, on the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, July 29, 2015.
French gendarmes and police carry a large piece of plane debris which was found on the beach in Saint-Andre, on the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, July 29, 2015.

The plane disappeared in March last year en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board, most of them Chinese.

Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said 10 days ago that investigators on Reunion had collected more aircraft debris, including a plane window and aluminium foil, but there was no confirmation they belonged to the missing plane.

  • 16x9 Image

    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

XS
SM
MD
LG