Roundup: Search of MH370 debris off Reunion Island ends, no new discovery

Search operations for the debris of the missing Malaysian Airline's MH370 plane off the coast of the Indian Ocean island of Reunion ended on Monday without new discoveries.

"In the absence of any new discovery of objects that can advance the ongoing investigations, it appears that the probability of finding more MH370 debris is extremely low," Reunion Island's Administrator Dominique Sorain said in a statement.

A 48-hour air search by a transport aircraft and three helicopters has covered a total maritime zone of 10,000 square kilometers, along with 141-hour search efforts on land that began on Aug. 7.

The army and security forces will remain vigilant during operations in the sea off the French island and along the coast, the statement added.

Sorain on Friday announced that ground search found debris "that was not of the same size as the wing part found in late July". It has been taken to the Air Transport Brigade of the French Gendarmerie for tests.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has confirmed the wing part known as flaperon found on the island late July was from MH370.

However, investigators in France have so far only said the link is highly likely.

Malaysia's Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai on Sunday said the mission to trace the MH370 wreckage involving Malaysia, Australia and China would continue in the Indian Ocean.

The three nations would hold a meeting next month to review the search area, he added.

Flight MH370 went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, and was believed to have crashed into the sea. A total of 239 people were on board, most of them Chinese. Endit