KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 10 — Police in Malaysia said they were concerned about the survival of an Irish teenager who went missing on holiday as search efforts continued into their seventh day today.

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.

Negri Sembilan police chief Datuk Mohamad Mat Yusop speaks during a press conference on missing Irish teen Nora Anne Quoirin in Seremban August 8, 2019. — Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri

Nora Anne Quoirin, a 15-year-old who has learning disabilities, was reported missing last Sunday, a day after her family had arrived at the Dusun resort in Seremban, about 70km south of Malaysia’s capital of Kuala Lumpur.

"We are very worried about (her) welfare and we don’t know how long (she) can survive,” Datuk Mohamad Mat Yusop, police chief of Negeri 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.

A helicopter from the Malaysian Police Air Wing Unit, equipped with a surveillance thermal imaging camera, participates in a search and rescue operation for 15-year-old Irish girl Nora Anne Quoirin in Seremban August 8, 2019. — Reuters pic

The family issued a statement through the Lucie Blackman Trust late yesterday saying Nora "is not like other teenagers. She is not independent and does not go anywhere alone.”

The family said Nora had been to Asia and many European countries and had never wandered off or got lost. — Reuters