SYDNEY — Three pieces of debris found washed ashore will be examined by investigators in Australia to see if they came from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, officials said Thursday.
Two were found on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, and one was discovered in Mozambique, Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester said. Other debris from the Boeing 777 that vanished two years ago has previously been found in both countries.
The Malaysian government is arranging to collect the items, Chester said in a statement. The debris will then be flown to Australia for examination.
Chester did not release details on what the debris looked like or who found it, saying only that the items are "of interest."
Two weeks ago, officials said a piece of engine cowling found in South Africa and an interior panel piece from an aircraft cabin found on Rodrigues Island off Mauritius were almost certainly from MH370. Those parts were the fourth and fifth pieces of the plane that have been recovered since it disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.
Related: Likely MH370 Piece Was Left on Beach Because of Its Smell
The first recovered piece of the Boeing 777 washed up on the French island of Reunion in July 2015. Malaysia and French authorities confirmed the flaperon was from the aircraft.
An extensive underwater search of a vast area of the Indian Ocean off Australia's west coast has turned up nothing, with crews expected to complete their sweep of the search zone by July or August.
Investigators believe someone may have deliberately switched off the plane's transponder before diverting it thousands of miles off course, out over the Indian Ocean.
