Malaysian aviation officials said an airplane wing part found last week on the remote Indian Ocean island of Reunion came from the same type of aircraft as Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, raising hope it may offer clues to solving the mysterious disappearance of the jet nearly 17 months ago, reports marketwatch.com.

French officials, however, declined to confirm Malaysia’s assertion before an analysis of the part officially begins Wednesday, underscoring the confusion that has emerged in the sprawling, multinational investigation.

Local officials in Reunion were also sifting through reports of new debris found on the island, a French territory off the east coast of Madagascar, as scavengers came to the beach looking for other airplane parts that could have washed up on the beach.

Malaysia Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai identified the plane piece that washed ashore Wednesday as part of a Boeing 777, the same model as Flight 370. Liow said French authorities, Boeing, and the US National Transportation Safety Board agreed that the piece was from a 777. Liow didn’t say whether the part belongs to the missing Flight 370.

If the piece is identified as a Boeing 777 part, it would almost certainly come from Flight 370; only two other Boeing 777s have ever crashed, and neither were anywhere near the Indian Ocean.