French investigators have said “with certainty” that debris found on Reunion Island is from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

The flight went missing in March 2014 on route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with the feared loss of all 239 people on board.

A section of the wing, known as a flyperson, was located on the French-controlled territory of Reunion Island in July this year.

Previous statements from the Malaysian government were more equivocal, stating they believed the aircraft part was from the missing plane.

However, a technician from Airbus Defence & Space in Spain, which originally made the part for Boeing, has now formally identified one of three numbers found on the flaperon as being the same as the serial number on MH370.