asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will give a detailed account, and the cost thereof, of the investigations into the disappearance of a person (details supplied) in Zambia.
Written Answers. - Person Missing in Zambia.
208.
The person in question went on a boating trip with three companions on Lake Tanganyika on 2 July 1983. A storm blew up. When the group did not return the supervisors of the camp from which they had set out searched the area of the lake on 3 and 4 July in the hope that the group had put in to a small island or were otherwise stranded on the lake or lake shore. When no trace was found, they decided on 5 July to call for the help of the Zambian Air Force, and to notify the consular representatives of the four citizens involved. The Zambian Air Force searched the lake in good visibility on 6 July but found no trace of the group.
As soon as they were informed of the loss, three days after the storm, the consular representatives of the four countries, including Ireland, whose citizens were involved immediately co-ordinated their efforts. The authorities of Zambia, Tanzania and Zaire were informed of the event, and were asked to make inquiries and searches to find the group, or to find traces of them or their boat, or for any news that might clarify their fate.
Missionaries, aid workers, expatriates and villages in the lake area were alerted and asked to make inquiries and report immediately any information or rumours concerning the group. Every lead was followed up, but regrettably no trace emerged. In particular, a rumour that the group had got ashore in Tanzania and were being held by the authorities there for illegal entry was checked several times. It is a matter for the authorities of the countries in the area of the loss, rather than for the authorities of the countries of the missing people, to conduct searches and inquiries in the area. However, we sent an aid worker employed by the Department of Foreign Affairs who is familiar with the district to the lake area. He spent about four weeks almost exclusively engaged in making personal inquiries in the area, checking rumours, and meeting local officials and others.
Every lead or rumour is followed up, the local authorities are kept fully aware of our continuing interest and concern, all relevant information is carefully examined and appropriate additional action is urged, for example the more remote areas of the Zaire coastline have, at our request, been searched.
In cases like this it is not considered appropriate to keep or calculate details of the costs incurred in seeking to deal with the tragic situation. From the moment an Irish consular representative was notified that an Irish citizen was among those missing, our objective has been to do everything possible either to find the missing persons or to find out what happened them. Our efforts have been pursued in co-operation with the authorities in Zambia, Tanzania and Zaire and also with the consular representatives of the other countries whose citizens are missing. Our efforts will continue. I have recently again asked the authorities in Zambia, Tanzania and Zaire, to whom I express my deep appreciation for their help to date, to renew their efforts and to ensure that everything possible is done to solve this sad case.