KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7: Debris recovered on the island of Mauritius belongs to Malaysia Airlines aircraft MH370, the Transport Ministry announced today.

In a press statement, minister Liow Tiong Lai said examination of the item of composite debris has been completed by experts from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).

 “With the concurrence of the MH370 Safety Investigation Team, ATSB’s analysis of the piece has determined the following: from a part number found on a section of the debris, the piece has been identified as a trailing edge splice strap, incorporated into the rear spar assembly of a Boeing 777 left outboard flap.

“This is also consistent with the appearance and construction of the debris,”Liow said.

He said the ATSB concluded also that adjacent to the part number was a second part identifier, and the flap manufacturer supplied records indicating that this work order number was incorporated into the outboard flap shipset line number 404.

“This corresponds to the Boeing 777 aircraft line number 404, registered as 9M-MRO (MH370). As such, the experts have concluded that the debris piece originated from the aircraft 9M-MRO, also known as MH370,” he said.

This is the latest confirmation of debris belonging to MH370, following debris found in Tanzania last month.

The Beijing-bound MH370 went missing in March, 2014, with 239 people on board the flight from Kuala Lumpur.  -The Rocket