SEREMBAN, Aug 16 — Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail travelled to the state capital of Negri Sembilan today to personally offer condolences to the family of Nora Anne Quoirin, the Irish teenager who died under tragic circumstances after getting lost in a jungle near here.

The remains of the 15-year-old, who is of Franco-Irish parentage, were found on Tuesday following a massive search and rescue operation mounted by Malaysian authorities after she was reported missing from a holiday villa at an eco-tourism resort near here on August 4.

It was an emotional scene when Dr Wan Azizah embraced Nora Anne’s mother, Meabh Jaseprine Quoirin, when they met at the resort, according to Negri Sembilan state executive councillor (Exco) Nicole Tan Lee Koon who was present during the tearful closed-door meeting.

“The deputy prime minister appeared sad throughout the meeting,” said Tan, who accompanied Dr Wan Azizah along with Negri Sembilan police chief Datuk Mohamad Mat Yusof, the official who disclosed the findings of the post-mortem on Nora Anne’s body yesterday.

Advertisement

According to the exco, Meabh and her husband Sebastien Marie Philipe were heard thanking the government for its effort on the case.

Dr Wan Azizah declined to comment on the meeting when approached by reporters later.

Advertisement

She merely said that the family had requested for privacy during this difficult time.

The post-mortem findings revealed that Nora Anne, a special needs teenager, died of internal bleeding likely due to starvation and stress.

The Quoirin family had checked in at the resort on the verge of the Malaysian Main Range rainforest on August 3 for a two-week holiday.

They sounded the alarm after discovering that Nora Anne had vanished from the accommodation the following morning, a window in her room ajar.

Dr Wan Azizah had earlier been briefed on the case by Mohamad at the Pantai police station here.

When met by reporters there, she described Nora Anne’s passing as tragic and a source of great sadness.

She took the opportunity to thank the members of search and rescue team for their unrelenting effort in finding Nora Anne, whose body was discovered in a ravine located 2.5km from the eco-resort, on the 10th day of the operation. — Bernama