“To have reached Réunion from the main search area west of Australia, the piece of debris would have travelled around 3-4,000 km in the 16 months since the crash. This is on the fast side of the range of possibilities, but is still perfectly possible.

“The Indian Ocean has two dominant currents – one to the south of the suspected crash zone, which travels west to east, and one to the north, which travels east to west. If the piece of suspected wreckage found on Réunion did come from MH370, it is possible that it could have initially floated north from the crash zone, before being caught in the strong current close the equator travelling west.

“On its own, this piece of debris will not do much to narrow down the search area by very much. Put bluntly, over a 16 months period, the debris could have travelled from nearly anywhere in the Indian Ocean to Réunion. That said, some points of origin are more likely than others, and the debris found on Réunion could at least provide evidence that the search operation is in the right kind of area. Combined with other evidence, this may allow investigators to focus on a narrower patch of the ocean floor as they continue their search for more wreckage.”

“It has started all over again, staring at the handphone constantly for news.

“We have mixed feelings. If this is true, at least I know I can have peace and give my husband a proper send-off.”

But part of us still hopes they are out there alive somewhere.”

 

Gwyn Topham

While there is some confusion over the reported number - BB670, according to the Australian deputy prime minister, Warren Truss, but 657BB according to reports from Reunion - the part number appears to match that of the flaperon on the Boeing 777.

The number is normally attached to a larger aeroplane part on a small metallic plate and should register not only the generic part number, but an individual serial number that allows the history of that particular part to be traced. That should tally with the records held by the manufacturer and the airline. Individual parts could have been swapped since original construction, and are labelled to allow aircrafts engineers to track if and when they need maintenance or replacement.

That simple record check means investigators, Malaysian Airlines and Boeing should already be confident whether the numbered part could have come from flight MH370 - if they have been provided with a full and accurate serial number. However, with the history of false starts and confusion in the long and emotive search for the missing airliner, few officials would want to confirm the lead before viewing the physical evidence on Reunion directly, experts say.

David Gleave, an air accident investigator, said: “The serial number information should be fairly easily accessible - but we should be cautious.

“It’s not unknown for very strange things to occur during crash investigations, and you would want to eliminate all possibilities. It’s a big international investigation - and it is possible to buy these parts should you wish to confuse things. You want to be able to track the complete history to establish that exact part came from that plane.”

Gleave added: “A lot of aircraft parts look very similar to other aircraft parts, and these things take time to confirm - given the amount of grief we really must make sure.”

 

Tom Phillips

There were 153 Chinese passengers on the Beijing-bound Boeing 777 when it disappeared on 8 March last year after leaving Kuala Lumpur and many of their families continue to harbour hopes that they might one day return.

Reports that debris of a Boeing 777 had been found on Réunion, east of Madagascar, did little to change their minds.

Cheng Liping, a mother-of-one whose husband, Ju Kun, was on the flight, told the Guardian: “Personally, I don’t believe it. I don’t believe that they have found it. It’s been more than a year. If they were able to find it they would have already found it. Why now and why just a small piece of debris?”

Jack Song, whose sister Song Chunling was lost, agreed. “Nobody believes it. If it belongs to 370, where are the other things like the seats, the cargo?” he said.

News that one of the most baffling mysteries in aviation history could have moved a step closer to resolution came to the Chinese families in the early hours of Thursday.

Shortly after midnight, one relative posted reports of the find on social media. Minutes later another relative, whose mother was on the plane, sent an anxious reply. “Who has more information?” When did they find it?” the message said.

By daybreak, relatives were still struggling to make sense of the development.