Agence France-Presse reported that the object was found by people cleaning a beach, and cited a witness who said it was partly encrusted with shells and appeared weathered.
PARIS — A large object that appeared to be an airplane part washed up Wednesday on the shore of Réunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean, prompting speculation that it might be debris from Flight 370, the Malaysia Airlines jetliner that disappeared in March 2014.
A French official with knowledge of the investigation said that the object appeared to be a wing flap, possibly from a Boeing 777, the type of aircraft used on the flight.