Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
World
Lizzie Dearden

MH370 search: Volcano erupts on Réunion island as debris investigation continues - live updates

Aircraft wreckage on the French island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean (EPA)

A volcano has started erupting in Réunion as investigators continue efforts to establish whether part of a Boeing 777 wing found on the island is from MH370. Here are the latest updates:

Please allow a moment for the live blog to load

Two Chinese-branded water bottles and an Indonesian cleaning product have also been washed up on a nearby beach, although they could be waste from passing Asian cargo ships.

The latest discoveries came as an Australian official said that the debris found on the Indian Ocean island is "very likely" to be from missing aircraft, which disappeared on 8 March last year with 239 people on board.

Martin Dolan, who is in charge of search efforts in Australia, told the BBC that the operation was continuing "in the right place".

The wreckage is being flown to France for further analysis as international teams continue searches on Réunion.

Possible MH370 debris found - in pictures  

The small French island was one of the places where an oceanographer predicted evidence of the crash could be carried by ocean currents.

A "drift map" created by Professor Charitha Pattiaratchi, from the University of Western Australia, suggests that any floating items that continue past Réunion would be washed ashore in Madagascar.

If the debris is confirmed to be from MH370, experts will try to retrace its path back to where the bulk of the plane sank on impact.

But officials have cautioned that the discovery was unlikely to provide any more precise information about the aircraft's final resting place and relatives of the disaster's victims are wary of hoping for closure.

Read more: Relatives wary of hope at new discovery
Oceanographer predicted debris would wash up on Réunion
Beach cleaners were going to make flaperon tourist attraction
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.