A French family of seven, including three adults and four children, has been kidnapped on Tuesday while vacationing in northern Cameroon and officials speculate the involvement of an Islamic extremist sect.

The incident has been confirmed by French President Fancois Hollande during a visit to the Athens as he states the family had been "taken by a terrorist group that we know and that is in Nigeria."

The family was kidnapped early Tuesday morning around 7 a.m. in Dandanga, near the Nigerian border. Government officials are using military helicopters in an extensive search for the tourists, a Cameroonian government official told the Associated Press.

"The three adult tourists and four children were picked up early today (Tuesday) by men riding on motorbikes who rode off toward the border into Nigeria," the Far North Regional Delegate in the Ministry of Forest and Wildlife, Jean-David Ndjigba said from the province's capital of Maroua.

"As I speak to you right now, helicopters are flying over the entire province, and specifically in the administrative area of Waza in search of the kidnapped tourists," he added.

Waza Park located in the Far North Region of Cameroon is a natural wildlife reserve popular with foreign tourists. The unidentified family has reported to have been visiting the park earlier.

"I see the hand of (Nigerian militants) Boko Haram in that part of Cameroon. France is in Mali, and it will continue until its mission is completed," Hollande said.

The latest kidnapping adds fear and instability as these numbers have increased by the hand of Islamist militants in Northern Nigeria. According to the US monitoring group IntelCenter, France has the highest number of hostages taken, followed by the United States with nine, among Western countries.