Did A MH370 Suitcase Wash Up, Too?

Investigators who are looking into plane debris that was discovered on Wednesday have also been notified of a suitcase that may have come from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. On Thursday morning, a badly damaged suitcase was found washed up on the shores of La Reunion, the same island in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar where a piece of a plane wing was discovered on Wednesday. A gardener on the island is said to have discovered the tattered suitcase near the area where authorities recovered the wing.

At this time, investigators have not made any comment about the suitcase. According to The Telegraph, Johnny Bègue, the first person to spot the piece of plane debris on Wednesday, is also said to have found the mysterious suitcase. Of the suitcase, Bègue told The Telegraph: "The piece of suitcase was here yesterday [Wednesday], but no one really paid any attention to it" amidst the commotion over the wing debris. Returning to the scene where the wing was discovered, Bègue recovered the suitcase. Bègue also noted that a zipper was still attached to the sturdier portions of the suitcase's fabric, calling the discovery "surreal."

Currently, the investigation remains focused on the wing debris, and it remains to be seen if authorities will consider the found suitcase as evidence in the search for MH370.

The wing found on Wednesday is the first piece of physical evidence that may be linked to the disappearance of MH370, which vanished from radar on March 8, 2014. Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss has called the debris a "significant development" and a "major lead."