Prime Minister Najib Razak today said he is optimistic that Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will be found as new evidence and clues emerge, a day after he confirmed that the plane debris washed up on an Indian Ocean island last week is from the ill-fated plane.
"It has been more than a year but I still remain hopeful. As new evidence and clues emerge, God willing, we will find #MH370," Najib said on Facebook.
Najib assured those affected by the tragedy that the Malaysian government was committed to find out the truth behind what could have happened to the missing Boeing 777 that disappeared mid air on March 8 last year with 239 people on board, including five Indians.
Ground control lost contact with the aircraft just before it entered Vietnamese airspace at 1.20am, 40 minutes after it took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport for Beijing. Following the mysterious disappearance, a multi-nation search and rescue effort, involving land, sea, and air assets, was launched.
Najib late last night announced that a team of international investigators had confirmed in France that the piece of wreckage found on La Reunion Island on July 29 was from MH370.
Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai had said the conclusion was reached as the technical details of the flaperon matched the airlines records.
"From our first observation, the colour tone and all maintenance records that we have, we know. Our records show that it's the same as MH370," Liow said, adding that there are "many other technical details that I do not have to reveal" but that confirm the part is from Flight 370.
Media reports also cited him as saying that window panes, aluminium foil and seat cushions have been found on La Reunion but it was not clear whether they were from the missing plane. Another report citing a legal source said that French investigators have not received any further pieces of debris.
Authorities in France, the US and Australia have not fully confirmed that the flaperon was from MH370 and so far only Malaysia has made the announcement, in what has irked the relatives of the victims due to lack of clarity.
