David Gallo, who co-led the search for Air France Flight 447 which crashed in 2009, tells CNN that the 79-foot object in the Indian Ocean is "maybe it's the tail section".

The announcement raises hopes of finding parts of the plane after a huge search that is now in its 13th day.

Previous reports of debris found in the sea have not turned out to be related to the passenger jet, which vanished over Southeast Asia earlier this month.

Australian search teams have been at the forefront of the hunt for the missing plane in the remote southern Indian Ocean.