The parents of a 19 year-old Dutch girl who has disappeared on Cuba are flying out to the island on Wednesday morning in an effort to find their daughter.

Anouk van Luijk, from Hellevoetsluis, a small town south west of Rotterdam, was supposed to fly back to the Netherlands on Saturday but never arrived.

The girl, who was travelling alone, arrived on the Caribbean island on July 7. Her parents last had contact with her on July 21, when she phoned to say that her bank card had been swallowed by an ATM and that she did not feel well.

‘She was in a panic,’ friend Miranda Roest told RTL Nieuws. ‘She had no money, she had slept on the beach and had not eaten or drunk anything for 24 hours. Of course that unnerved her parents.’

Her father Wim told RTL they had advised Anouk to head for the Dutch embassy, but she never made it there.

Anouk’s parents say they have been in touch with the Cuban police, with the Dutch embassy in Cuba and with the foreign affairs ministry. ‘But the police say they will only take action if there has been a crime or there is a threat to life,’ Wim said in a Facebook message.

A spokesman for the foreign affairs ministry said they are aware of the situation and are in touch with the embassy to assess the situation.