Malaysia confirmed early on Thursday that a piece of a wing washed up on an Indian Ocean island beach last week was from the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370.
"Today, 515 days since the plane disappeared, it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that an international team of experts have conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on Reunion Island is indeed from MH370," Prime Minister Najib Razak said in a televised statement.
"Malaysia Airlines would like to sincerely convey our deepest sorrow to the families and friends of the passengers onboard Flight MH370 on the news that the flaperon found on Reunion Island on 29 July was indeed from Flight MH370," the airline said in a statement.
"This is indeed a major breakthrough for us in resolving the disappearance of MH370. We expect and hope that there would be more objects to be found which would be able to help resolve this mystery," it said.
The airline's priority would be to update families and cooperate with authorities "on the investigation and recovery of this tragic accident", it added.
International crash experts had been examining the wing part found on France's Indian Ocean island of Reunion last week.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared in March 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board.
The Boeing 777 was minutes into its scheduled flight when it disappeared from civil radars. Investigators believe that someone deliberately switched off the aircraft's transponder, diverted it thousands of miles off course, and deliberately crashed into the ocean off Australia.
