Amid MH370 Search, American Found Debris Along Mozambique Beach
— -- There is a good likelihood that the piece of debris recovered in Mozambique is from a Boeing 777, like the Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared two years ago this month, according to a U.S. official familiar with the search for MH370.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a Boeing 777, vanished on March 8, 2014, en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing after losing radar contact over the South China Sea.
According to a Mozambique aviation official, an American named Blaine Alan Gibson walking along the beach over the weekend in Mozambique found the piece of debris near Benguerra.
Gibson reported the find to Mozambique officials and the piece is now at the Instituto de Aviacao Civil de Mocambique in the country's capital of Maputo.
The Mozambique aviation official told ABC News the part is 57 by 90 centimeters.
On Wednesday, the Malaysian Minister of Transport tweeted that there's a “high possibility” that a piece of debris belongs to a Boeing 777.
“Based on early reports, high possibility debris found in Mozambique belongs to a B777,” tweeted Liow Tiong Lai, Malaysia's Minister of Transport.
But he added: "I urge everyone to avoid undue speculation as we are not able to conclude that the debris belongs to #mh370 at this time.”
Australia's Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Darren Chester, also released a statement Tuesday: "A piece of metal, approximately one metre in length, has been found on a beach in Mozambique. The debris is to be transferred to Australia where it will be examined by officials from Australia and Malaysia, as well as international specialists. The location of the debris is consistent with drift modelling commissioned by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and reaffirms the search area for MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean."
There are no other known missing Boeing 777s.
The nearly two-year search has so far failed to locate the plane. The fate of the airliner and the 239 people on board remains a mystery.
The last thing ever heard from MH370 was, "Good night Malaysian three-seven-zero."
ABC News' Matt Hosford, Erin Dooley, Aïcha El Hammar Castano and Gitika Kaul contributed to this report.
