Police worried for survival of Irish girl missing in Malaysia.
The search and rescue (SAR) operation for Nora Anne Quoirin, 15, which entered the eighth day today will continue despite it being Hari Raya Aidiladha.
Even though they have to forego being with their families for the celebration, members of the operation were given time off to perform the Aidiladha prayers.
The SAR team members, including Nilai district police chief Supt Mohd Nor Marzukee Besar, along with about 500 congregation members began to gather at the Masjid Kariah Pantai, Seremban at 7 am to perform the Aidiladha prayer which was led by Mosque imam Abdul Khahar Sukin, 73.
After the prayers, the congregation and SAR members were served with local cakes as well as ketupat and rendang prepared by the local residents.
Mohd Nor Marzukee said despite the festivities, the search operation continued early this morning and so far the team’s morale remains high.
“In the SAR operation today, we used various search techniques to locate the victim. We hope Malaysians continue to pray for the operation to be successful and to find the victim as soon as possible,” he told reporters after the prayer.
The SAR operation to look for Nora Anne comprised 317 members, including the Royal Malaysia Police’s elite VAT 69 commandos team, as of yesterday.
At the scene of the incident, the weather was unpredictable with intermittent rain since 10 am. The weather is expected to continue to pose a challenge to the SAR team throughout the operation.
Meanwhile, police said they are concerned about the survival of the Irish teenager.
In a statement, police said they had narrowed the search area believing the girl could not have gone far, adding the search was focused on steep areas, shrubs and rocks as well as around the family’s holiday accommodation.
Search and rescue efforts involving more than 300 searchers thus far have not led to any clues, the police added.
“We are very worried about (her) welfare and we don’t know how long (she) can survive,” Mohamad Mat Yusop, police chief of Negri Sembilan state where Seremban is located, told reporters.
Police also confirmed they were looking into people with criminal backgrounds around the area and had searched the homes of hotel staff.
Earlier reports:
Aug 10, SAR for Missing Irish Teen: Wet Weather Proves a Challenge for Search Teams
Aug 10, Nora Extremely Excited About Holiday in Malaysia
Aug 9, Missing Irish Teen: CID Team Checks Phone Logs, Email Exchanges Made from Resort
Aug 9, Footprints Believed to Be That of Nora’s Found
Aug 8, Police: Only Exit Used in Missing Irish Teen Case Was Glass Window
Aug 8, Police to Use Mum’s Voice to Draw out Missing Irish Teen in Day 5 of SAR
Aug 8, Quoirin Family Incensed at Media’s Overture
Aug 8, Crowdfund for Missing Irish Teen Hits £50,000 Target
Aug 7, Police Insist Missing Irish Teen Still in Jungle, but Orang Asli Community Claim Otherwise
Aug 7, Family Insists Irish Teen Was Taken
Aug 7, Search and Rescue for Irish Teen Extended to Surrounding Hills and Creeks
Aug 7, Stepping Up Searching for MissingIrish Teen
Aug 6, Search for Missing Irish Teen GoesDown to River
Aug 5, Negeri Sembilan Police in StatewideSearch for Missing 15-Year-Old Special Needs Irish Girl