International aviation officials can't say for sure whether the debris found near Mozambique came from MH370

Thomson Reuters

Mozambican aviation authorities consider the piece of debris found along the eastern African coast between Mozambique and Madagascar as "premature" in relation to the missing MH370 aircraft that disappeared two years ago.

"Up to now, there is no evidence showing that it is explicitly or implicitly a part of MH370," said Joao Abreu, the director of National Civil Aviation Institute of Mozambique, Xinhua reports.

Meanwhile Liow Tiong Lai, Malaysia's transport minister tweeted, "Based on early reports, high possibility debris found in Mozambique belongs to a B777."

Citing US, Malaysian and Australian investigators who have looked at photos of the possible debris, NBC said the piece could be a horizontal stabilizer from a Boeing 777, the same type of plane as the flight MH370 aircraft that was en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur when authorities lost track of it in March 2014.

The US National Transportation Safety Board declined comment, and referred questions to the Malaysian authorities who oversaw the investigation. Boeing also declined to comment, referring all questions to investigating authorities.

NBC said the debris was found on a sandbank in the Mozambique Channel by an American man who has been tracking the investigation into the missing flight.

Thomson ReutersEngineers who have looked at the debris have said there is a good chance it belonged to MH370, NBC said, citing sources close to the investigation.

NBC cited sources as saying the piece looks like it belongs to a Boeing 777 and that Boeing engineers were examining the photos.

Australian authorities told NBC they were arranging for an investigation of the piece, which could have drifted to the sand bar. Authorities there have said they are stepping up their search for the missing plane, which had been carrying 239 passengers.

The report comes after authorities said last year that they had found a piece of the plane's wing on the shore of Reunion island in the Indian Ocean on the other side of Madagascar.

Authorities have said other reported debris was not wreckage from flight MH370.

NOW WATCH: This computer model shows how debris from MH370 may have spread from Australia to Africa