Police in Berlin have died claims of a “cover-up” over the disappearance of a 13-year-old girl after videos circulating on social media claimed she was kidnapped by asylum seekers and gang-raped.

The child, who The Independent is choosing not to name, has since been found and officers said there was no evidence of either crime.

“In recent days it has come to our notice that there is great interest from the internet community in the case of a 13-year-old girl reported missing in Marzahn-Hellersdorf and the circumstances of her absence,” a spokesperson for Berlin Police said.

+++ Information zum Vermisstenfall einer 13-Jährigen +++In den letzten Tagen ist uns aufgefallen, dass das Interesse... Posted by Polizei Berlin on Monday, 18 January 2016

“It is true that the girl was briefly reported missing and has now returned. We are aware that a number of differing claims are being discussed on social media.

“The fact is – the investigation by our LKA (State Criminal Police Office) found that there was neither a kidnapping or a rape.”

In response to questions on Facebook, the force said officers were aware of the videos circulating and continued to investigate the case.

“We expressly ask for your understanding that we cannot give further details, for the protection of the girl and her family,” the statement added. “We are also appealing for the subject to be handled sensitively on social networks.”

The Berliner Zeitung reported that the girl disappeared on her way to school on 11 January and was found the next day but conflicting claims about the incident have continued to circulate online, with videos and Facebook posts being viewed millions of times.

Interest spiked after Russia’s state-owned Channel One television broadcast an interview with a woman claiming to be the girl’s aunt on Saturday.

Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Show all 13 1 /13 Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Women protest against sexism outside Cologne Cathedral on 5 January after the assaults Oliver Berg/EPA Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Women protest against sexism in Cologne following the rash of sex attacks on New Year's Eve Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police initially failed to mention the assaults in report the following morning EPA Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police officers patrol in front of the main station of Cologne, Germany AP Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks German far-right supporters demonstrate at Cologne`s train station (Reuters) Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Supporters of anti-immigration right-wing movement Pegida in Cologne, Germany, January 9, 2016. Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police used pepper spray to control supporters of Pegida, Hogesa (Hooligans against Salafists) and other right-wing populist groups as they protested against the New Year's Eve sex attacks on 9 January, 2016 in Cologne, Germany Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police use a water cannon during a protest march by supporters of anti-immigration right-wing movement Pegida in Cologne, Germany, January 9, 2016 Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police use pepper spray against supporters of anti-immigration right-wing movement Pegida, in Cologne, Germany, January 9, 2016. Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Artist Mira Moiré protests naked in Cologne against the mass sex attacks on New Year's Eve AP Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks A demonstrator holds a sign in German that reads 'No violence against women' during a demonstration in the wake of the sexual assaults on New Year's Eve, outside the cathedeal in Cologne, Germany, 09 January 2016. EPA Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Counter demonstrators hold up a sign reading "Against sexism, against racism" as they protest against a demonstration of the islamophobic movement PEGIDA at the train station in Cologne, Germany, on January 9, 2016. AFP/Getty Images Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Demonstration by a women’s group on Saturday (AP) AP

Breaking down into tears, she claimed the child was abducted and raped repeatedly in a 30-hour ordeal but that police did not believe her account.

Another woman, said to be the girl’s cousin, also spoke about the alleged incident at a rally held by the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany, which has been accused of links to neo-Nazism.

She claimed that three “southern-looking” foreign men who spoke broken German lured her into a car and held her in a room for 30 hours, raping her repeatedly.

Denying claims the attack was a xenophobic hoax, she said the child had been questioned by police for three hours without her parents.

Far-right groups in Germany and around the world have seized on the rumours to argue for an immediate halt to migration, as anger continues about the sexual assaults in Cologne.