The family of Terence Gialanzé, 24, who went missing over a week ago, are increasingly concerned for his safety.

“He left us so abruptly. People ask a lot of questions. He had no reason to just pack up and leave and he had no health problems or anything of the sort…

“Just in case he’s fine, all I ask is that he makes contact to let us know he’s alright,” his sister, Kersty Portelli, 23, said.

Mr Gialanzé, who lived with his grandmother in Luqa, was last seen on Tuesday when he left home to go fishing. He told relatives he would be back in the evening and that the battery on his mobile phone was running low. When he failed to return home, relatives reported him missing.

Ms Portelli said it was not unusual for her brother to go fishing on his yacht. He usually went with a friend. But this time, the friend he mentioned to his grandmother did not know anything about Tuesday’s trip and said he last saw Mr Gialanzé over the weekend, she said.

She said the family was concerned because his black Fiat Cinque Cento was found parked in Qawra on Monday and the yacht he was meant to have used to go fishing was found berthed in Gozo. He berthed his own yacht at the Ta’ Xbiex marina, she said.

In comments posted on her Facebook page, Ms Portelli appealed for more information and asked people to share the photos of her brother in the hope that someone would have seen him.

“Everyone tells you to be strong… How many days can you keep being strong? It’s been a week today and my brother is still missing,” she wrote on Facebook.

Mr Gialanzé, who is six foot tall with short brown hair, was last seen wearing a light blue tracksuit.

Another young man who was reported missing and has still not been traced is Matthew Zahra, 27, of Valletta. He was reported missing on August 15 and was last seen when he left home at 7am. His car had been found in Marsaxlokk.

Any information can be conveyed to the police confidentially on 119 or by going to the nearest police station.

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