Malaysia said Monday that it was sending a team to the Maldives to investigate whether debris found by local islanders could belong to missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said Malaysia had been "officially notified" by authorities in the Maldives of objects found there, whose origin remains unverified.

"We will be dispatching a team to the Maldives to view the debris as well as conduct preliminary verification of the debris," he said in a statement.

"At this stage, it is highly premature to speculate on whether this debris is in any way connected to MH370."

Baa Atoll discovery could be vessel wreckage

The Maldives has joined a regional search for wreckage from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight following reports that islanders in the Indian Ocean atoll nation had spotted unidentified debris.

Maldivian police said they had received reports of several sightings of items washed up along the northern atolls of the archipelago, some of which occurred about a month ago. Debris was specifically recovered on Baa Atoll Fehendhoo and Fulhahdhoo islands west of the capital Male.

Meanwhile, local media reported that the debris could be part of the cargo from a barrage that capsized six months back. The captain of the barrage said the vessel capsized 22 kilometers (14 miles) away from Baa Atoll. Previous discoveries in the region were not linked to MH370, except for the find on Reunion Island.

New focus on Indian Ocean

There is new attention on seaborne debris in the Indian Ocean after Malaysia confirmed last week that a wing part that had washed ashore on the French island of Reunion came from the ill-fated plane. It was the first confirmed evidence that the jet had met a tragic end in the Indian Ocean in March 2014.

After the discovery, the Malaysian authorities alerted nearby Madagascar and the South African coast to be on the lookout, saying it was possible that debris would wash up in those locations. Mauritius also joined the search.

The Beijing-bound Boeing 777 had disappeared with 239 people aboard on 8 March last year, sparking the largest multinational search operation in history.

ss/rc (AFP, dpa)