Debris recently discovered in Mozambique most likely come from Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which vanished mysteriously two years ago, Australian officials said Wednesday.
In a statement, Australia's Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester said that an analysis of two items found that they were “consistent with drift modeling” that “further affirms our search efforts in the southern Indian Ocean.”
“The analysis has concluded the debris is almost certainly from MH370,” Chester said.
The only other confirmed piece of debris from the Boeing 777, which disappeared while en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 people on board, was found last July in the southern Indian Ocean.
One of the fragments was found by an 18-year-old South African, Liam Lötter, who was on vacation last December in the coastal resort town of Xai Xai when he discovered a large object on the beach. Printed on it was what appeared to be a serial number — 676EB.
An American lawyer and adventurer, Blaine Alan Gibson, found the other piece.
Gibson, who is from Seattle and has written extensively about his search for the missing plane, told NBC News that he decided to charter a boat while on a visit to Mozambique and scour a sandbar where he thought he might find something.
He appears to have gotten lucky.