Debris that might be from the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 had been spotted at Reunion Island since May according to beach cleaner Nicolas Ferrier.

He said he spotted a blue seat in early May but did not think it was of any importance.

"It wasn't until Wednesday that it hit me what it could have been. It was probably part of that plane," Ferrier said, as reported by The Telegraph yesterday.

On Thursday, a piece of a wing was found washed up on the coast of Reunion Island, an island on the east of the Indian Ocean.

Investigators scrambled to inspect the aircraft piece, with the Malaysian Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi saying it is "almost certain" that the piece was from a Boeing 777, the same model as Flight MH370.

They had also found a badly-damaged suitcase close to where the plane debris was found.

Ferrier said that in May, he had also found some suitcases washed ashore, but again did not realise their significance.

"I found a couple of suitcases too, around the same time, full of things.

"I burnt them. That's my job. I collect rubbish and burn it. I could have found many things that belonged to the plane and burnt them, without realising," he added.

Even the part of the wing that washed up had been spotted by Ferrier in May before, though it was crusted with barnacles then.

When it washed ashore again on Thursday, the barnacles were dead.

"Like the seat, I didn't know what it was. I sat on it. I was fishing for macabi (bonefish) and used it as a table. I really didn't pay it much attention, until I saw it on the news," he said.

He said he did not report seeing these items in May because he worked alone, unlike the team of beach cleaners who found the wing on Thursday. 

"Even now I can't quite understand it. For me, it was something totally normal. I see it all the time. 

"I can't really say if it was the first time or the last time I saw bits like that, because I never pay attention. From now on, I will look more closely," he said.

The piece of wing had been transported to France for investigators to analyse more closely. 

Discovery of the debris may finally confirm that the plane crashed into the sea, after 16 months of futile searching.

Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai had said on Saturday that more Malaysian officials will be going to Reunion to look for more debris. 

Ferrier thinks they might be successful.

"There was a lot of evidence on the beach (in May). But the sea took it away. I think they'll find more though.

"I've seen quite a lot, and I wasn't even looking," he said.