France Widens Search For MH370

Kuala Lumpur has asked for more help in the search for MH370, with France to send planes, boats and helicopters to scour the coast of Reunion where debris washed up.

A piece of wing known as a flaperon was found on a Reunion beach last week, with Malaysia saying the paint and a maintenance seal were matches for MH370, the first piece of direct evidence that it had crashed in the sea.

The piece of wing debris was flown to mainland France for investigation. Reunion is about 3,700 km (2,300 miles) west of the primary search area off the southwest coast of Australia.

Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said he would seek expert advice before asking Australia, which is leading the underwater search, to broaden search efforts.

However, France said on Friday it was ramping up its search off the coast of Reunion after additional debris, including a plane window and metal foil were found. The latest finds have not been confirmed as coming from MH370.

The French decision to devote additional planes, helicopters, patrol boats and personnel to the area came as Malaysia also appealed to the governments of Mauritius and Madagascar, east of Reunion, to help widen the search area.

However, Malaysia's request to extend the original search area in the southern Indian Ocean is likely to meet with resistance in Australia, which has largely funded the search effort and is opposed to expanding expensive underwater searches without strong evidence.

An initial search of a 60,000 sq km (23,000 sq miles) patch of sea floor has been extended to another 60,000 sq km but has so far returned no evidence.