Malaysia to verify if debris in Maldives came from plane

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysia’s government says that debris has been found in the Maldives and that it will send a team to the Indian Ocean island nation to determine whether it came from a plane.

Last week, Malaysia said a wing fragment found on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion was confirmed to be from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The plane went missing March 8, 2014, with 239 people aboard while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said Monday that it was premature to speculate whether the debris found in the Maldives is connected to Flight 370.

He said the Malaysian team will first try to determine whether the debris is from a plane before proceeding further. He didn’t give details on what kind of debris was found.