France launched a hunt for more wreckage from the ill-fated MH370 plane off Reunion island yesterday in a fresh effort to shed light on one of aviation's biggest mysteries.

The tiny French Indian Ocean territory has been under intense scrutiny since a beach cleaner found a washed-up wing part last week, which Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak later declared was part of the Boeing 777 that mysteriously vanished 17 monthsago.

The flaperon is currently being examined by experts in France for clues as to the last moments of the Malaysia Airlines aircraft that inexplicably veered off course en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, and there are hopes that Reunion may yield more debris.

In nearby Mauritius, authorities are also searching for any possible plane parts that may have landed on their shores.

The Boeing 777 disappeared on March 8 last year, sparking the largest search operation in history, now focused on the southern Indian Ocean based on satellite data hinting at the plane's path.

Analysts call the flaperon find a clear step forward by eliminating theories that the plane might have landed somewhere, and confirming the search was roughly on the right track.