* Source says debris likely from a Boeing 777

* Malaysia has sent team to Reunion Island

* Currents could have pushed debris far from crash site - expert

* MH370 disappeared without a trace in March 2014 (Adds comments from Australia deputy PM, experts, details)

By Tim Hepher and Lincoln Feast

PARIS/SYDNEY, July 30 (Reuters) - France's air crash investigation agency is studying a piece of plane debris found on Reunion Island off the east coast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean for possible links to missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

A person familiar with the matter told Reuters the part was almost certainly from a Boeing 777 but that it had not yet been established if it came from MH370.

A U.S. official said air safety investigators had a "high degree of confidence" the debris was from the same model as MH370, the Associated Press reported.

No trace has been found of MH370, which disappeared in March last year carrying 239 passengers and crew while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, in one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history. Most of the passengers were Chinese.

Search efforts led by Australia have focused on a broad expanse of the southern Indian Ocean off Australia.

"In the event that the wreckage is identified as being from MH370 on La Reunion Island, it would be consistent with other analysis and modelling that the resting place of the aircraft is in the southern Indian Ocean," Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said in a statement.

The plane part, which according to aviation experts may be a moving wing surface known as a "flaperon" situated close to the fuselage, usually contains markings or part numbers that should allow it to be traced to an individual aircraft, the person familiar with the matter said.

There have been four serious accidents involving 777s. Only MH370 is believed to have crashed south of the equator.

A spokesman for France's BEA crash investigation agency said it was too early to draw conclusions.

"At this point in time the BEA is studying the information on the airplane part found in La Reunion, in coordination with our Malaysian and Australian colleagues, and with the judicial authorities," the spokesman said in an email.

"The part has not yet been identified and it is not possible at this hour to ascertain whether the part is from a B777 and/or from MH370," he said.

The part is roughly 2-2.5 metres in length, according to pictures of the debris. From the photos, it appeared fairly intact and did not have visible burn marks or signs of impact.