MH370 latest: Debris washed up on Madagascar beach ‘most likely’ from missing flight

MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014
Wikipedia
Sophie Williams7 January 2019

Debris washed up on the coast of Madagascar has been confirmed as "most likely" belonging to missing flight MH370.

Five pieces of debris were handed over to Malaysian authorities in November by relatives of those on board and wreck hunter Blaine Gibson.

Flight MH370, carrying 239 people, disappeared as it made its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

One of the pieces discovered was a floor panel which contained the letters and numbers WPPS61.

Authorities have since confirmed that it is very likely that the debris came from the doomed flight.

Grace Subathirai Nathan (R), daughter of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 passenger Anne Daisy, shows a piece of debris believed to be from flight MH370
AFP/Getty Images

Wreck Hunter Blaine Gibson told the West Australian: “Locals tell me there are many more pieces of debris washed up but it needs Malaysia to offer rewards.”

He told the newspaper that he had been handing locals small rewards in return for the debris.

Mr Gibson now believes that the main plane wreckage lies just outside of the search area.

Grace Subathirai Nathan, (R) daughter of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 passenger Anne Daisy and MH370 #SearchOn Campaign leader pictured with Malaysia's Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook
EPA

Investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau have in the past suggested that the plane ran out of fuel after flying in the wrong direction over the Indian Ocean for six hours.

There had been speculation that the plane crashed due to a deliberate 'murder-suicide' plot by pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah, however this has been refuted by official investigators.

A part of the debris believed to belong to MH370
EPA

Although some debris from the plane has been found off the coast of Africa, no part of the main body has been discovered despite a 46,000-square mile search of the Indian Ocean.

The second search for the aircraft was called off earlier this year, on May 29.

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