Confirmed: Reunion debris is from missing MH370 plane – Malaysian Prime Minister
Mr Najib said international experts examining the debris in France had “conclusively confirmed” it was from the aircraft.
The Malaysia Airlines plane carrying 239 people veered off course from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014.
The debris was found on the remote French Indian Ocean island a week ago.
The plane is believed to have crashed into the southern Indian Ocean – though no evidence had been found despite a massive search operation.
“It is with a very heavy heart that I must tell you that an international team of experts has conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris […] is indeed MH370,” Mr Najib told reporters.
“We now have physical evidence that […] flight MH370 tragically ended in the southern Indian Ocean,” he added.
Mr Najib said he hoped the discovery “will at least bring certainty to the families” of the victims, saying the burden they had faced was “unspeakable”.
‘Very strong indications’
French prosecutor Serge Mackowiak later confirmed the wing fragment, known as a flaperon, was from a Boeing 777 – the same make and model as the missing Malaysian airliner.
He said initial tests showed there were “very strong indications” that it was from flight MH370. But he said confirmation would only come after further tests on the fragment, which would begin on Thursday.
“[Investigators] will try to do it as soon as possible in order to provide total and reliable information to the family of victims, who are on our minds at the moment,” Mr Mackowiak added.