Adding to the confusion, French investigators have not been sent any new wreckage to analyse after Malaysia said more items suspected to be from MH370 had been found on Reunion island.
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She said China is continuing to playing a key role in the search for the missing Boeing 777 but, now that more debris has been found, has urged the Asian nations, China and Malaysia, to join Australia in ramping up the efforts.
Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has said Australia is confident the search is being conducted in the right area.
Last week, a flaperon, the movable part of a plane’s wing that is lowered or raised to control the angle of the aircraft, washed up on the French La Reunion island.
The parts are reportedly on their way to a French military facility where investigators will determine the veracity of the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s claims that the wing part does belong to MH370.
The wing section found on Reunion, known as a flaperon, is being examined in the French city of Toulouse by global aviation experts. They scuffled briefly with police, who blocked the relatives from approaching the mission. The BBC reporter at the protest said that many are refusing to accept Malaysia’s confirmation. He said there are “many other technical details that I do not have to reveal” but that confirm the part is from Flight 370.
Bao Lanfang, whose grandson was on board, said: “Everyone has been lying to us”, before collapsing on the floor and crying.
They shouted, chanted, and knelt on the ground crying, demanding more action from Malaysia and information about their missing loved ones.
“We have decided to deploy additional aerial and maritime assets to search for potential new debris off Reunion Island“, France’s Defence Ministry said in a statement on its website.
Now investigators will reportedly turn their focus to the area around Reunion Island to determine if the remainder of the flight is buried somewhere beneath the Indian Ocean.
But in France authorities stopped short of full confirmation, saying a verifying process would continue. “Find the people for us”. “We are accustomed to criticism from day one, but please give us credit because we are doing our best to cope with this”.
Beijing-bound MH370, which vanished an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur worldwide Airport on March 8 last year, was carrying 239 passengers and crew members, including 152 Chinese citizens.
Some continued to insists on Thursday they would not believe the Malaysian authorities until the plane’s black box data and flight recorders were recovered, or bodies were found. “I can only ascertain that it’s plane debris“.
Numerous Chinese relatives have consistently questioned the official view that the plane crashed.
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Relatives of MH370 passengers have reacted with anger and disbelief at the statement issued by Malaysia that the found Boeing 777 flaperon conclusively belongs to the fateful aircraft.
