This Article is From Feb 11, 2023

Body Of Missing Indian Man Found Under Destroyed Hotel In Turkey

The man, Vijay Kumar, from the hill state of Uttarakhand, was working for a Bengaluru-based company and was on a business trip to Turkey, said the embassy.

The body of an Indian man, missing since the February 6 earthquake in Turkey, was pulled out from under the rubble of a hotel where he was staying, the Indian embassy said on Saturday.

The man, Vijay Kumar, from the hill state of Uttarakhand, was working for a Bengaluru-based company and was on a business trip to Turkey, said the embassy.

He was pulled out from under the rubble of a hotel in Malatya, a region severely hit by the devastating earthquake. 

With his face crushed beyond recognition, the businessman was identified with a tattoo of the word "Om" on one of his hands, his family said quoting Indian embassy officials, reported news agency PTI.

He was a resident of Padampur area in Kotdwar in Pauri district. His clothes had been found on Friday.

All arrangements are being made to bring the body back to India, the embassy said.

The number of Indians residing in Turkey is around 3,000, out of which about 1,800 live in and around Istanbul, while 250 are in Ankara and the rest are spread all over the country, the agency reported quoting officials.

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria on Monday, flattening thousands of structures, trapping an unknown number of people and potentially impacting millions. The death count stands at 25,000 and is expected to rise further. 

Turkey's disaster agency on Saturday said nearly 32,000 people from Turkish bodies are working on search and rescue efforts. In addition, there are 8,294 international rescuers.

India is providing material, medical supplies and equipment to Syria as well as sending search and rescue teams to Turkey under 'Operation Dost', External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said earlier this week.

Tens of thousands of local and international rescue workers are still scouring through flattened neighbourhoods despite freezing weather that has compounded the misery of millions now in desperate need of aid.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan conceded for the first time on Friday that his government was not able to reach and help the victims "as quickly as we had desired".

The tremor was the most powerful and deadliest since 33,000 people died in a 7.8-magnitude tremor in 1939.
 

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