Another false alarm in the search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight 370, after possible debris found on a West Australian beach were found to have no link to the missing aircraft.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) studied the photographs of the material which washed ashore 10 kilometres east of Augusta, around 300km south of Perth.

According to the Australian-led Joint Agency Coordination Centre, the photos were being examined “to determine whether further physical analysis is required and if there is any relevance to the search for missing flight MH370.”

Police had said that items of interest had been previously reported after washing up on a WA beach and had turned out to be unrelated to MH370, so it was important not to jump to conclusions.

ATSB chief commissioner Martin Dolan also played down the find.

“It’s sufficiently interesting for us to take a look at the photographs,” Mr Dolan told CNN.

“The more we look at it, the less excited we get.”

He said the debris appeared to be sheet metal with rivets.

–with AAP