French prosecutor says 'very high probability' wreckage from MH370

August 06, 2015 | 10:10

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There is a "very high probability" that wreckage found on the Indian Ocean island of La Reunion comes from the doomed Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, a French prosecutor said on Wednesday.

Paris deputy prosecutor Serge Mackowiak holds a press conference on the Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight in Paris, France. (AFP PHOTO/JACQUES DEMARTHON)

PARIS: There is a "very high probability" that wreckage found on the Indian Ocean island of La Reunion comes from the doomed Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, a French prosecutor said on Wednesday (Aug 5).

"There exists a very high probability that the flaperon indeed belongs to flight MH370," said deputy Paris prosecutor Serge Mackowiak. His statement was considerably more cautious than one minutes earlier from the Malaysian prime minister, who said the investigation had "conclusively confirmed" the debris came from the flight.

Investigators had been able to confirm that the flaperon came from a Boeing 777 due to its "technical characteristics."

Furthermore, "technical documentation" provided by Malaysia Airlines representatives allowed investigators to "establish a link between the item examined by the experts and the flaperon from the MH370 Boeing 777 in terms of their common technical characteristics," said Mackowiak.

He was unable to say when more detailed results could be available. However, he stressed: "Experts are carrying out their work as quickly as possible to offer complete and reliable information as quickly as possible to the victims' families."

MH370 veered off course inexplicably in March 2014 with 239 people on board. Until last week, no trace of the aircraft had been found, confounding experts and leading to wild conspiracy theories. However, the piece of plane wing washed up on La Reunion, sparking hopes of a breakthrough in the mysterious disappearance.

AFP

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