Aviation authority find possible wreckage from MH370 on Seychelles

Aviation Authority of the Indian Ocean archipelago said on Thursday possible debris from a Malaysia Airlines jet that disappeared in 2014 has been found on the Seychelles.

The Seychelles Islands Development Company (IDC), said, rangers found two pieces of debris suspected to be from an aircraft while tagging turtles and birds on North Island.

The Boeing 777 disappeared on March 8, 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

Pieces of wreckage believed to have come from the plane have been found off African coasts.

IDC spokesperson Michael Payet said that the largest piece of debris, measuring 30 x 120 cm and apparently made from aluminium and carbon fibre, could be part of an engine cover.

Investigators from the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) would be sent to North Island in the Farquhar Atoll to retrieve the debris.

The aviation authority in a statement said it is “already in contact with the Malaysian authorities, who have shown an interest, and with whom we expect to work closely.’’

If it is confirmed that the debris is from an aircraft, Australia would also be contacted, the statement added.

The official search effort for the doomed flight MH370, led by Malaysia, Australia and China, was suspended in January after an underwater sweep of some 120,000 square km turned up no signs of the plane’s main body.