Indian authorities have begun a search for Kerry teacher Ms Darina O’Shea who has not made contact with her family since Christmas Day.
Tour operators, hotel workers and taxi and rickshaw drivers are assisting local police in the search in the city of Puri, in the State of Orrissa.
Ms O’Shea, who is an experienced traveller, has been traced to Puri on January the 10th or 11th but she is believed to have left the city to enter the remote part of the region at a later date. Communications in the region are poor.
The Department of Foreign Affairs embassy in Delhi have been in contact with police in Puri who have been checking with local hotels where residents must provide passport and other details when checking in. Pictures have also been circulated among people in the tourist industry in the city.
"We are giving all appropriate consular assistance we can," a Department official said.
