Suitcase found as experts race to verify whether wreckage found on Reunion Island is MH370

A damaged suitcase believed to be from MH370 has reportedly been found in Saint-André near where a plane wing thought to be from the missing wreckage was found yesterday.

Aviation experts have scrambled to confirm if they have finally found evidence of MH370, while authorities have stated the aircraft wing part that washed up on the coast of Reunion Island could be from other known crashes in the area.

The two-metre long piece of wreckage, believed to be a flaperon, a movable section from the trailing part of a wing, could belong to a Boeing 777 - the same aircraft model as MH370.

The Malaysia Airlines flight remains the only plane of that model ever lost at sea, according to Wired.

However, CNN correspondent Richard Quest cited aviation experts who said the part could belong to other planes that went down in the area, although they are not the same model.

The wing part could be from an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767 plane that crashed off the island of Grande Comore on 23 November 1996 or another twin-engine aircraft that crashed off Reunion Island in May 2006.

Yemenia Flight 626 also crashed into the sea off Grand Comore in June 2009, although that aircraft was an Airbus 310.

A number of experts are now working to verify the origin of the plane piece, which appears to be inscribed with the code "BB670".

France-based aviation expert Xavier Tytelman said the numbers were not a registration or serial number, however they should be able to definitely identify the exact aircraft the part came from.

It is unclear if the code is consistent with a Boeing 777.

"It's clear that this reference would allow a quick identification. In a few days, we will have a definitive answer," he said.

Photographs and video of the wreckage piece have been tentatively matched to a schematic of a Boeing 777 aircraft.

If the piece turns out to be MH370, it will be the first conclusive evidence that the plane was lost at sea.