An Australian official says aircraft wreckage potentially from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has been found on an island off the east African coast.

Transport Minister Darren Chester oversees the search for the Boeing 777 that vanished in 2014 with 239 people on board. He said Friday that a "piece of aircraft debris" had been found on Pemba Island off the coast of Tanzania.

He said the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is conducting the search on Malaysia's behalf, is seeking further information to determine whether the debris is from Flight 370.

Several pieces of the plane have washed up over the past year on coastlines around the Indian Ocean, which is consistent with drifting models based on the airplane having crashed in the Indian Ocean southwest of Australia.