Search plea by dad of missing girl swept out to sea

The father of a seven-year-old girl from Lancashire who was swept out to sea in Morocco has made an appeal for specialist support to help find her after he said the official search was called off.

Inaayah Makda, from Blackburn, was sitting with her parents on rocks at a Casablanca beach when they were hit by a large wave on 28 January.

The search which had been hampered by weather was called off by authorities in Morocco at the end of February.

Her father Zubair Makda said in a post on social media the family were continuing their own search to find Innayah but added they needed expert help.

He posted on Blackburn Muslim Group on Facebook: "My daughter went missing at Lala Maryem Beach Casablanca in Morocco on the 28th January and she is still missing at sea after getting swept into the sea by an unexpected large wave where I was also swept in and had somehow managed to come to shore safely."

He said: "We were struck from behind by a sneaker wave and got caught up in a rip tide with little time to react."

"The Moroccan authorities have been unable to find her after weeks of searches and have called off the search."

"We now need further expertise to help find her."

He added: "If anyone has any contacts who are aware of how the sea works in that area and have expertise in sea drift modelling this would be a great benefit to us to identify search areas."

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

Zubair and his wife, Tasneem Makda, said the disappearance of their only child has been "devastating".

Her family describe Inaayah as a "bright and gentle little girl".

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