Suspected MH370 debris nearly ended as wall art, Réunion Island media report

KUALA LUMPUR — Municipal workers who found the debris at Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean suspected to be from the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 initially wanted to use the piece as “decoration”, Reunion Island media reported today (July 30).

The French-language news site L’info à La Réunion said that when the six workers found the piece of a plane’s “flaperon”, which is a portion from a plane’s wing, they brought it to land thinking nothing of it, adding that they had plans to display it for visitors to the island.

The workers only later realised the significance of their discovery and reported it to the authorities.

Earlier today, Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi told newswire Reuters that Malaysia is “almost certain” that the debris originated from a Boeing-777.

Malaysia has since sent a team to investigate, assisted by of Boeing, the BEA (Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses pour la Sécurité de l’Aviation Civile), the US National Transportation Safety Bureau and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

Australian deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss also said today there is a “realistic possibility” that the debris found on the island of La Réunion is from the wreckage of flight MH370.

Malaysia Airlines was operating a Boeing 777 on the ill-fated flight, which vanished without a trace in March last year while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in one of the biggest mysteries in aviation history. The plane was carrying 239 passengers and crew.

Search efforts led by Australia have focused on a broad expanse of the southern Indian Ocean off Australia, roughly 3,700km from France's Reunion Island. MALAY MAIL ONLINE