Parents of girl swept away in Morrocco say they ‘will never stop searching for her’

The family of a seven-year-old British girl who was swept out to sea while on holiday have asked for more help from the government to find her.

Inaayah Makda was pulled into the water while sitting on rocks on the Atlantic coast near Casablanca in Morocco on Wednesday.

Her parents, Zubair and Tasneem, from Blackburn, Lancashire, were also both swept into the ocean but lost sight of their daughter.

The family were on their first night of a week-long holiday when the disaster unfolded.

Drones and water scooters were deployed to find the girl but without success.

In a statement on social media, the parents said Inaayah is ‘not just a statistic’ as they described their hope she will be found.

Zubair and Tasneem Makda said: ‘Inaayah is our only child. She is a bright, loving, and gentle little girl who loves to laugh and is deeply cherished by our family.

‘As parents, we hold on to the hope that she may have reached safety somewhere along the coastline.

‘We also hold on to the hope that, if the worst has happened, we can at least bring her home with dignity, prayers, and closure.’

A fundraiser launched to support the family has already raised £61,000.

In the statement, posted on the Blackburn Muslim Facebook page, the parents said they were ‘deeply concerned’ by what they called the ‘limited practical support’ provided by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Inaayah’s family added: ‘While we have been told our case is being monitored, this has not translated into tangible action.

‘We are not asking the UK government to take over the search but to actively advocate with Moroccan authorities for expanded efforts, to push for additional resources, and to provide the necessary coordination and expertise to strengthen the search.

‘As British parents of a British child missing overseas, we need more – practical – urgent support that can help escalate the search and bring additional resources into play.

‘This is not about blame. This is about a little girl who is deeply loved and missed, and about parents who are doing everything in their power to bring their daughter home.’

Zubair and Tasneem Makda said they had been forced to rely on local volunteers and private efforts as they try to locate Inaayah.

Their local MP Adnan Hussain called the situation ‘utterly heartbreaking’ and ‘deeply distressing’ on Friday and said he was raising their case with the Foreign Office.

Mr Hussain added that poor weather had hampered the search operation.

Much of Morocco has been battered by successive depressions bringing heavy rain and flash flooding in parts of the country, with the army reportedly called in to help evacuate people.

A spokesperson for the the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: ‘We are supporting the family of a British national reported missing in Morocco and are in contact with the local authorities. Our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time.’

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