A piece of debris found on a beach in the Indian Ocean is part of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak says.
The Boeing 777 wing component, known as a flaperon, is the first piece of physical evidence recovered from the Malaysian jetliner since it disappeared nearly 17 months ago with 239 people on board, CNN reports.
More details to follow.
The MH 370 Disaster
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A relative (C) of passengers on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 cries after hearing the news that the plane plunged into Indian Ocean at a hotel in Beijing on March 24, 2014. The missing Malaysia Airlines jet came down in the Indian Ocean, Prime Minister Najib Razak said March 24, as the airline reportedly told relatives it had been lost and that none on board survived. (Photo Credit: AFP PHOTO / GOH CHAI HINGOH CHAI HIN/AFP/Getty Images)
A relative (C) of passengers on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 cries after hearing the news that the plane plunged into Indian Ocean at a hotel in Beijing on March 24, 2014. The missing Malaysia Airlines jet came down in the Indian Ocean, Prime Minister Najib Razak said March 24, as the airline reportedly told relatives it had been lost and that none on board survived. AFP PHOTO / GOH CHAI HINGOH CHAI HIN/AFP/Getty Images
A relative of a passenger onboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 cries at Lidu Hotel on March 8, 2014 in Beijing, China. Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and carrying 239 onboard was reported missing after the crew failed to check in as scheduled while flying over the sea between Malaysia and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, according to published reports. (Photo Credit: ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)

Family members of passengers onboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 cry inside a hotel they are staying at in Putrajaya March 11, 2014. Investigators in Malaysia are voicing skepticism that the airliner that disappeared early Saturday with 239 people on board was the target of an attack, U.S. and European government sources close to the probe said. The fate of the Malaysian airliner that vanished about an hour into a flight to Beijing remained a mystery, as a massive air and sea search, now in its third day, failed to turn up any trace of the Boeing 777 plane. (Photo Credit: REUTERS/Samsul Said)

A Chinese relative (C) of passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 reacts as he attends a meeting at the Metro Park Hotel in Beijing on April 21, 2014. The hunt for physical evidence that the Malaysia Airlines jet crashed in the Indian Ocean more than three weeks ago has turned up nothing, despite a massive operation involving seven countries and repeated sightings of suspected debris.. (Photo Credit: AFP PHOTO / WANG ZHAO)
A Chinese relative (C) of passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 reacts as he attends a meeting at the Metro Park Hotel in Beijing on April 21, 2014. The hunt for physical evidence that the Malaysia Airlines jet crashed in the Indian Ocean more than three weeks ago has turned up nothing, despite a massive operation involving seven countries and repeated sightings of suspected debris.. AFP PHOTO / WANG ZHAO
BEIJING, CHINA - MARCH 09: A relative of a passenger onboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 cries out at a local hotel where families are gathered on March 9, 2014 in Beijing, China. Malaysia Airline Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and carrying 239 onboard was reported missing after the crew failed to check in as scheduled while flying over the sea between Malaysia and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, according to published reports. (Photo Credit: Feng Li/Getty Images)
BEIJING, CHINA - MARCH 09: A relative of a passenger onboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 cries out at a local hotel where families are gathered on March 9, 2014 in Beijing, China. Malaysia Airline Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and carrying 239 onboard was reported missing after the crew failed to check in as scheduled while flying over the sea between Malaysia and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, according to published reports. (Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)
Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Co Pilot squadron Leader Brett McKenzie (L) and Flight Engineer Trent Wyatt sit in the cockpit aboard a P3 Orion maritime search aircraft as it flies over the southern Indian Ocean looking for debris from missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 on April 11, 2014. (Photo Credit: Richard Polden - Pool/Getty Images)

An observer looks out a window onboard a RNZAF P3 Orion during search operations for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in the Southern Indian Ocean on April 4, 2014, near Australia. (Photo Credit: Nick Perry - Pool/Getty Images)

Flying Officer Stuart Doubleday (L) and Warrant Officer Michael Makin sit in the cockpit of a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion aircraft searching for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 over the southern Indian Ocean on March 27, 2014 off the coast of Perth, Australia. (Photo Credit: Michael Martina - Pool/Getty Images)

Crew members aboard a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion aircraft observe navigation maps as they search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 over the southern Indian Ocean on March 27, 2014 off the coast of Perth, Australia. (Photo Credit: Michael Martina - Pool/Getty Images)

RAAF Flight Engineer Ron Day keeps watch for debris from a AP-3C Orion during a search mission for missing Malaysia Airline flight MH370 in the Southern Indian Ocean on March 26, 2014. (Photo Credit: Paul Kane/AFP/Getty Images)

This picture taken on March 24, 2014 shows crew members on board an RAAF AP-3C Orion crossing the coast of Perth, having just completed an 11 hour search mission for missing Malaysia Airways flight MH370 before landing at the RAAF Pearce airbase in Perth. (Photo Credit: RICHARD WAINWRIGHT/AFP/Getty Images)

Aircrew look out of a window of a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion from RAAF base Pearce on assignment to Southern Indian Ocean to commence a search for possible debris from the Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 on March 24, 2014 in Perth, Australia. (Photo Credit: Bohdan Warchomij - Pool/Getty Images)

Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force personnel walk from the tarmac as a P-3C Orion prepares to depart from the RAAF base Pearce in Bullsbrook, 35 kms north of Perth on March 24, 2014 to depart to search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 over the southern Indian Ocean. (Photo Credit: Paul Kane/AFP/Getty Images)

Aircrew walk on the wing of a Japanese Air Force AP-3C Orion after it landed at RAAF Pearce Base to join the search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 on March 23, 2014 in Perth, Australia. (Photo Credit: Rob Griffith-Pool/Getty Images)

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak waves farewell prior to boarding his aircraft at Perth International airport after visiting Australia during the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on April 3, 2014. (Photo Credit: Paul Kane - Pool/Getty Images)

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak (L) and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott hold a bilateral meeting on the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 at the Commonwealth Parliament Offices at Exchange Plaza in Perth on April 3, 2014. (Photo Credit: RICHARD WAINWRIGHT/AFP/Getty Images)

A Japan Orion aircraft prepares to leave Pearce Airbase at Bullsbrook, 35 km north of Perth, on April 3, 2014, to continue the search for missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370. (Photo Credit: GREG WOOD/AFP/Getty Images)

A Royal Malaysian Air Force Navigator captain, Izam Fareq Hassan works on a map onboard a Malaysian Air Force CN235 aircraft during a search and rescue (SAR) operation to find the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 plane over the Strait of Malacca. (Photo Credit: Getty/Daily Mirror)

A relative (front) of a passenger of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 cries as she walks past journalists at a hotel in Beijing March 9, 2014. The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER aircraft carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew was presumed to have crashed off the Vietnamese coast on Saturday, and European officials said two people on board were using false identities. (Photo Credit: REUTERS/Jason Lee)
A relative (front) of a passenger of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 cries as she walks past journalists at a hotel in Beijing March 9, 2014. The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER aircraft carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew was presumed to have crashed off the Vietnamese coast on Saturday, and European officials said two people on board were using false identities. REUTERS/Jason Lee (CHINA - Tags: TRANSPORT MEDIA DISASTER TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
A Royal Malaysian Air Force Navigator captain Izam Fareq Hassan talks with his team members onboard a Malaysian Air Force CN235 aircraft during a search and rescue (SAR) operation to find the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 plane over the Strait of Malacca (Photo Credit: Getty/Daily Mirror)

Crew members look out the windows from a Malaysian Air Force CN235 aircraft during a search and rescue (SAR) operation to find the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 plane over the Strait of Malacca (Photo Credit: Getty/Daily Mirror)

Despair: There were 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board Flight MH370, from 14 different nations

Grief: Family and friends waiting for the plane to arrive break down as they hear the jet has gone missing. The flight vanished off the coast of Vietnam around two hours after taking off

Anxious: Families of those on board the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH307 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, face an anxious wait for news of the search mission at Kuala Lumpur airport

Family members, left, of those on board the missing Malaysia Airlines flight walk into the waiting area at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang on Saturday.

A man takes pictures of a flight information board displaying the Scheduled Time of Arrival of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 (top, in red) at the Beijing International Airport in Beijing.

Journalists wait for a news conference to begin regarding the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.

A woman, center, believed to be the relative of a passenger on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, cries as she talks on her mobile phone at the Beijing International Airport in Beijing on Saturday.

An airport representative writes a notice instructing relatives of passengers on Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 to gather at the Holiday Inn at the Beijing International Airport.

A man, front, covers his face on his arrival at a hotel in Beijing, China, where relatives and friends were taken to await word on the fate of passengers and crew aboard missing a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200. The plane was carrying 239 people and lost contact over the South China Sea early Saturday morning on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.