Sydney/Kuala Lumpur:
Two pieces of plane debris found in Mozambique arrived in Australia today, where experts will determine whether they are from the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 that disappeared mysteriously over two years ago over the Indian Ocean.
The Boeing 777 jetliner vanished from radar screens on March 8, 2014 with 239 people, including five Indians, aboard and has not been seen since.
After years of searches and questions, a South African teenager and an American lawyer recently found debris on separate occasions off the coast of Mozambique, renewing hopes of solving the major aviation mystery.
Investigators will start examining the two pieces tomorrow to establish whether they are from MH370.
“The examination process is to commence on March 21 and with the assistance of the experts’ team, we hope to have results of the debris examination as soon as possible,” Malaysia’s transport ministry said in a statement in Kuala Lumpur.
Analysis of the debris will be done by Malaysian and Australian investigators, together with engineers from Boeing, the plane’s manufacturer.
“This is in order to adhere to full transparency and accountability in accordance with international protocols,” the Malaysian transport ministry said.
Australia is leading the underwater search effort to find the plane in the southern Indian Ocean.
The jetliner vanished on March 8, 2014, after it took off from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, en route to Beijing.
Officials have not said yet whether the parts found match up with MH370. But the Mozambique location where the US lawyer found one of the pieces of debris is consistent with some of the drift modeling, Australian authorities said.
Investigators have said another piece of debris found last year on Reunion Island, which is in the Indian Ocean, could also belong to the Malaysian jet.
Families of those missing in the tragedy have been critical of Malaysia’s handling of the probe and demanding clear answers to the mystery. Several of them recently sued Malaysia Airlines for damages.
