The family of British teenager Nora Quoirin, whose body has been found in Malaysia, have said their “hearts are broken”.

Nora, who had special needs, was found just over a mile away from the Dusun resort on Tuesday.

The 15-year-old Londoner had been on holiday with her family when she disappeared from her room on 4 August.

In a statement, her family thanked the 350 people who had been hunting for Nora in dense jungle near the resort.

They added: “Nora has brought people together, especially from France, Ireland, Britain and Malaysia, united in their love and support for her and her family.

“She has truly touched the whole world.

“The cruelty of her being taken away is unbearable. Our hearts are broken.”

Her cause of death has not yet been confirmed and Malaysian police said a post-mortem examination was under way.

Police said the teenager’s parents confirmed the body discovered by a search team was their daughter.

Malaysia’s deputy police chief Mazlan Mansor said Nora, who was of Irish-French descent, was found beside a stream in a “quite hilly” area of plantation, and was “not in any clothing”.

Authorities have been treating her disappearance as a missing persons case, but her family have said they believe she may have been abducted.

Nora was born with holoprosencephaly, a disorder which affects brain development, and her family said she was “not independent and does not go anywhere alone”.

On Monday, her parents Meabh and Sebastien, a French-Irish couple who have lived in London for 20 years, put up a 50,000 Malaysian ringgit (£10,000) reward for help to find her.

Nora, her parents and her younger brother and sister arrived at the resort in a nature reserve near Seremban, about 39 miles south of Kuala Lumpur, on 3 August for a two-week stay.

Nora Quoirin disappearance: Timeline

3 August: The Quoirins arrive at the Dusun forest eco-resort

4 August: Nora disappears from her room

5 August: The Lucie Blackman Trust says Malaysian police are treating Nora’s disappearance as a potential abduction, but officers deny any foul play is involved

6 August: Nora’s family say they believe she has been abducted

11 August: Malaysian police set up a hotline dedicated to receiving information about teenager

12 August: A reward of £10,000 – donated by an anonymous Belfast business – is made available for information leading to Nora’s safe return

13 August: A body is found in the search for Nora