The object, believed to be the door of an aircraft, was handed to the authorities after it was discovered just south of the city of St Denis.

It is said to have foreign writing on it and possibly some illustration.

A 2m-long object, also found on Reunion earlier this week, is being examined in France to establish if it is part of missing flight MH370.

The flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared last March with 239 people on board.