A new clue in the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 discovered in Mozambique will be turned over to investigators.
Casper Lotter said his son Liam found the evidence in Xai Xai on December 30 and brought it back to South Africa with him, but didn’t "piece it together" until this month’s story about another possible chunk found on a Mozambique beach 300km away.
Lotter’s mother contacted Australian aviation authorities after seeing the news reports.
The piece has five numbers on it, “676EB,” which authorities said may belong to a Boeing 777.
Liam, 18, and his cousin came across the 1 meter-long (3.3ft) debris when walking on the beach.
“We picked it up and I turned it around and it had like a, sort of like a curve to it and you can see where it’s been like pop riveted almost, like there’s holes on the side,” he said.
His father said it was a piece of rubbish, but Liam was convinced it was part of a plane.
“He was adamant he wanted to bring it home because it had a number on it,” Casper told AP.
The parts will be sent to Australia to be examined, which has been “appointed by Malaysia to identify parts found,” Kabelo Ledwaba, spokesman for the South African Civil Aviation Authority, wrote in a text message to the Associated Press.
The Malaysian Airlines plane vanished two years ago this week on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.