Reports: Officials say debris is 'likely' from MH370

Australian officials say debris discovered on an island near Madagascar is "very likely" a part of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, according to media reports.

Martin Dolan, chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, told CNN that he is "increasingly confident, but not yet certain" that the aircraft part discovered on the French island of Reunion is from the missing plane.

Dolan said the search was continuing in the right place, according to the BBC.

French authorities are sending the wreckage -- a flaperon that sat on the wing behind the engine -- to France for analysis before confirming that it came from the missing Malaysian plane. Reunion is an overseas territory of France.

Officials said they hope to have answers for the families, who have long wondered what happened to the passengers of MH370, within the next couple days.

"The most important part of this whole exercise at the moment is to give some kind of closure to the families," Australian Transport Minister Warren Truss said.

Contributing: Associated Press