Mozambique debris "almost certainly" from MH370: Aust'n government

Aircraft debris recovered from Mozambique earlier this month is "almost certainly" from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, Australia's transport minister said on Thursday.

Darren Chester said both pieces of the debris were "consistent" with panels from a Boeing 777 jetliner -- the same type as the missing passenger plane.

He said thorough analysis of the pieces was undertaken by a number of parties at the Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre in Canberra this week, and the results of the testing have been positive.

He added that Australia would continue its search for the missing airplane in the Indian Ocean, as the debris confirms government theories about underwater currents and drift modelling.

"The analysis has concluded the debris is almost certainly from MH370," Chester said in a statement on Thursday.

"That such debris has been found on the east coast of Africa is consistent with drift modelling performed by CSIRO and further affirms our search efforts in the southern Indian Ocean.

"I would like to acknowledge the work undertaken by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Geoscience Australia, Boeing and Australian National University which assisted the Malaysian Investigation Team with their examination of the debris.

"The search for MH370 continues. There are 25,000 square kilometers of the underwater search area still to be searched. We are focused on completing this task and remain hopeful the aircraft will be found."

The news follows confirmation that a flaperon from the aircraft washed up on a beach on La Reunion last year, while an apparent engine cowling from a Boeing 777 has also reportedly been found in South Africa this week. Endit