A Malaysian diplomat investigating the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 was found murdered on Thursday, after being gunned down in Madagascar’s capital of Antananarivo.

Zahid Raza, an Honorary Consul of Malaysia, had warned friends and family that he had been receiving death threats and warnings to cease his investigation into MH370’s disappearance.

Mr Raza was mid-way through tirelessly transporting pieces of wreckage that came from the missing plane in Kuala Lumpa, where he was assassinated.

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Metro.co.uk reports: Mr Gibson said he didn’t want to make an announcement about the new wreckage until it reached Malaysia, however decided to do so following Mr Raza’s death.

Dr Victor Iannello was part of the original Australian investigation into the missing place.

He said: ‘What makes a possible link to MH370 even more suspicious is that in the time period surrounding his death,

Mr Raza was expected to visit the Malagasy Ministry of Transport, retrieve additional recovered pieces, and deliver those pieces to Malaysia.’

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went missing on 8 August 2014. Despite massive search efforts, the plane has never been found, with only a few pieces of debris turning up.