A seven-year-old British girl from Blackburn, Lancashire, has gone missing after she was swept out to sea whilst on holiday in Morocco — an appeal to support the family’s independent search efforts has raised over £50,000.
Inaayah Makda was swept out to sea on Wednesday January 28 whilst her family were sat on the rocks of a beach near Casablanca, Morocco.
Her parents, Zubair and Tasneem Makda, were also swept into the water alongside Inaayah Makda, seven, but said they lost sight of their daughter after climbing to safety.
Naseem Khan, a presenter for the Blackburn-based UCTV, posted on social media a voice note from Inaayah’s father, Zubair, in which he said he was “praying” for his daughter to be found, but was critical of the help from the authorities, saying he had received little help.
A search was believed to have been conducted from Wednesday afternoon after the family made an emotional appeal and concerns were raised about the lack of action from Moroccan authorities.
In the voice note, Zubair said: “We were just on the rocks… that were sort of spread apart. It’s sort of like half a metre-high type of rocks and that’s when the tide just suddenly just swept everyone out.”
“Inaayah was on a rock behind me. I pray she’s okay and she’s on a rock or something and she’s just waiting for somebody to rescue her.”
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“I just pray she’s not gone and she’s not left us. I’ve always said that she’s a special girl,” Zubair said.
Accounts of the incident
Zubair and Tasneem, the parents of Inaayah, were on the first night of a week-long family holiday when the tragedy struck.
According to another relative of the family who wished to remain anonymous, the tide seemed to be far out when they first arrived on the beach, but had come rushing in very quickly to everyone’s surprise.
After about 20 minutes, the tide had swept many people in, all of whom were safe apart from seven-year-old Inaayah.
“There were no warnings or signs there for tourists,” she said.
The family were cut off from their daughter and surrounded by water after a wave knocked Inaayah one way and the parents another, the relative said.
Search efforts for Inaayah
The parents are reportedly still in Casablanca and have turned to a private search operator with a helicopter to assist with the search.
A GoFundMe appeal was launched to aid the family with the costs of the search effort and has raised over £50,000 out of its £90,000 target.
The fundraiser reads: “As many of you may have seen, our beautiful seven-year-old niece Inaya has gone missing after being swept out to sea on the first day of her family holiday in Morocco. This is an unimaginably distressing time for her parents and loved ones.”
“We are urgently asking for your kind support and donations to help cover the costs of the ongoing search efforts, including private boat hire, aerial support, as well as essential family expenses. These include translator support, emergency travel, and other unforeseen costs arising from the search and coordination with local authorities.”
“At present, many of these costs are being met privately by the family, and we are coming together to do everything possible to support them during this critical time,” the fundraiser added.
Inaayah is a pupil at Roe Lee Park Primary School and attends the Masjid-e-Saliheen madrasah.
Blackburn MP Adnan Hussain said he was “heartbroken” by the news and had been in touch with Inaayah’s family to offer support.
He stated: “I am urgently raising this matter with the UK authorities, including the Foreign Office, to ensure every possible step is being taken to support the search efforts and to provide the family with all the assistance they require at this deeply distressing time.”
The Foreign Office has issued a statement saying it was “supporting the family of a British national reported missing in Morocco” and was “in contact with local authorities”.
The ‘Search for Inaya’ fundraiser can be found on GoFundMe.
