Australian investigators are assessing whether material washed up in the west of the country might be related to the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is studying photographs of the material to determine whether any further physical analysis is necessary.

Western Australia police initially responded to a report of material washed ashore some 10km east of Augusta.

Augusta is located south of Perth, from where the Indian Ocean hunt for the missing flight MH370 has been co-ordinated.

The Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre states that the Western Australia police have “secured” the material and that the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has provided photographs to the Malaysian investigation personnel.

But it has not indicated the nature of the material and has yet to establish whether it is relevant to the search for the 777 which disappeared while en route to Beijing on 8 March.

Source: Cirium Dashboard