Girl, 7, Missing After She Was ‘Swept Away by a Wave’ During Family Vacation in Morocco

A 7-year-old girl from England is missing after she was swept out to sea during a family vacation in Morocco.

Inaayah Makda, from Blackburn in Lancashire, was sitting on a rock along the coast in Casablanca when a wave swept her and her parents — Zubair and Tasneem Makda — into the water, according to Adnan Hussain, the Member of Parliament for Blackburn, in a Jan. 29 social media statement.

Hussain said the parents were able to recover quickly after the wave hit. But when they looked for their daughter, she was gone.

“I have spoken directly with Inaayah’s father and aunt to offer my full support, and my office will do everything possible to assist them,” Hussain wrote, adding that he was urgently raising the situation with U.K. authorities, including the Foreign Office, to push for every possible step to support the search and assist the family.

In follow-up posts, Hussain said he had tried repeatedly to reach the Moroccan ambassador and embassy staff, but was “incredibly disappointed by the Embassy’s lack of urgency and engagement.”

“After numerous unanswered emails and several attempts to get in contact over the phone, I went directly to the Embassy, and even after pressing them for over an hour, I was unable to communicate with either the Ambassador or anyone from his office,” he wrote. Hussain added that he has also been in contact with the U.K. Foreign Office “to ensure that they apply the necessary pressure on the Moroccan authorities to step up the search.”

On Jan. 30, Hussain said he requested that a dedicated Police Liaison Officer be assigned to provide “direct and immediate support for the family on the ground.” He also said the Moroccan Civil Protection Team remained at the scene and would provide ongoing updates about their efforts.

However, he noted that the search had been “hindered due to a storm” in the area.

Meanwhile, Zubair told Naseem Khan — a presenter for the Blackburn-based UCTV — that the family has received limited support from authorities since Inaayah disappeared.

“We were just on the rocks… that were sort of spread apart,” he said of the moment the wave hit, per the BBC. “It’s sort of like half a metre-high type of rocks and that’s when the tide just suddenly just swept everyone out.”

He added that Inaayah had been behind him on another rock.

“Inaayah was on a rock behind me,” he said. “I pray she’s okay and she’s on a rock or something and she’s just waiting for somebody to rescue her. I just pray she’s not gone and she’s not left us. I’ve always said that she’s a special girl.”

Inaayah’s aunt, Jamila, had initially launched a GoFundMe to help fund search-related costs — including private boat hire, aerial support and essential expenses for the family — but later paused donations. She said the decision was due to the “complex nature of navigating permissions and required resources through the authorities, alongside ongoing challenges with weather conditions.”