Malaysia says to inspect suspected plane debris found in Maldives

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia said on Monday it will send a team to the Maldives to inspect debris found there and cautioned that it was too early to establish any connection to the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370.

This comes after several news reports said unidentified debris had been found in Maldives and were being collected by authorities in case they are from the missing plane.

"Once it is determined to be aircraft debris, discussions will be held to determine next steps in terms of the process of analysis," said the transport ministry in a statement.

Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 last year while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, about 3,700 km (2,300 miles) from Reunion.

Prime Minister Najib Razak said last week that experts had"conclusively confirmed" a piece of debris found on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion last week was part of the wing of MH370.

REUTERS