Chandrika Sharma had taken the flight from Kula Lumpur on her way to Mongolia to participate in a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) organised conference which begins today.
Sharma was to represent her organisation "International Collective In Support of Fishworkers", where she works as an Executive Secretary.
"She originally hails from Haryana, she is a resident of Chennai since 1993 having married to a Tamil, Narendiran," her colleague Venugopal told PTI here.
"Her family is devastated by this..They do not want to talk to anyone now," he said, adding they were yet to get information from official agencies.
(ICSF), which has offices in Chennai and Brussels, is an international NGO that works towards the establishment of equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector, according to its website.