Children write messages of hope for passengers of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) outside Kuala Lumpur June 14, 2014. REUTERS/Samsul Said

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A metal object believed to be plane wreckage washed up on the Malaysian east coast on Wednesday, prompting speculation for the second time in a week that debris from missing Malaysian Airlines aircraft MH370 may have surfaced.

Local media reported that the object, which was white and measured two meters long, was spotted floating in the waters near the town of Besut in the eastern state of Terengganu.

The object was found along the same coastline facing the South China Sea as the Nakhon Si Thammarat province in Thailand, where suspected plane debris was found on Saturday. Officials have said that debris did not belong to MH370.

A Malaysian Transport Ministry spokesperson said officials from the Department of Civil Aviation were looking into the latest finding.

“The DCA has been informed by the police and will investigate,” the spokesperson told Reuters in a text message.

Flight MH370 disappeared with 239 people on board on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014.