MH370 debris found?

While a wing fragment from a Boeing 777 found last week was confirmed by Malaysia’s prime minister as belonging to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, investigators involved in identifying the debris are not ready to make the same conclusion just yet.

According to a report by The Guardian, Malaysian PM Najib Razak confirmed during a press conference yesterday that the wing fragment, discovered last week on Reunion Island (near Madagascar), belongs to the missing aircraft, which disappeared March 8, 2014 while flying from Kuala Lampur to Beijing.

Malaysia Airlines reiterated the PM’s statement in a press release, stating that “family members of passengers and crew have already been informed,” and that the debris had been confirmed as belonging to MH370 by several parties, including investigators.

However, at another press conference, French investigators involved in identifying the wing fragment said that while the debris does belong to a Boeing 777, further analysis is required before confirming the fragment is in fact from MH370.

The aircraft was carrying 239 passengers (most of them Chinese) and crew when it disappeared. The BBC reported that some family members of passengers lost on the flight responded to the conflicting messages with anger, with some protesting outside of Malaysia Airlines’ Beijing office following the announcements.