MH370 investigators meet in Paris before test on part

Image source, AP

Image caption, The piece of an airplane wing will be tested in Toulouse, France, this week

3 August 2015

Malaysian experts have met French officials to co-ordinate investigations into missing flight MH370, days after suspected debris was found.

A plane part washed up on French-owned Reunion, in the Indian Ocean, last week and has been flown to France for tests.

Malaysia's transport minister says the part belonged to a Boeing 777 - the same model as the Malaysia Airlines plane that vanished in March 2014.

Tests will also be carried out on new debris found on Reunion, Malaysia says.

Investigators in the city of Toulouse will seek to establish if the plane part came from MH370, that was travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board. They will begin their work on Wednesday.

A suitcase found near the wing portion in Reunion is also to be tested at a laboratory in Paris, .

More debris

Malaysia's director of civil aviation, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, representatives of the airline and Malaysia's judiciary, met a magistrate and others in Paris to decide on the direction the investigation will take.

Neither side commented after the meeting although a statement is due.

On Monday, Malaysia's Transport Minister, Liow Tiong Lai, said more debris found on Reunion will be tested to see if it came from MH370.

Image source, AFP

Image caption, It has been suggested that one item of debris taken away for examination is a kettle

Missing Malaysia plane: What we know

MH370: The deep-sea hunt for missing plane

Mr Liow told reporters in Malaysia that aluminium frames and broken pieces of material were found.

AFP said on Sunday that one of its photographers saw a mangled piece of metal inscribed with two Chinese characters being placed in an iron case and carried away.

But some social media commentators suggested the item might be a kettle. The characters spell Yixing - the name of an eastern Chinese city.

Nearby Mauritius has said it would do all it can to search its waters for plane debris.

An Australian-led search for the plane has focused on a vast area of the southern Indian Ocean about 4,000km (2,500 miles) east of Reunion.

Investigators believe MH370 veered off course on the way to Beijing and crashed into the sea - but they do not know why.