The body of an Indian man, missing since the February 6 earthquake in Turkey, was pulled out from under the rubble of a decimated hotel in the southern region, the Indian embassy said on Saturday.
The man, Vijay Kumar, from the hill state of Uttarakhand, 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.
All arrangements are being made to bring the body back to India, the embassy added further.
We inform with sorrow that the mortal remains of Shri Vijay Kumar, an Indian national missing in Turkiye since February 6 earthquake, have been found and identified among the debris of a hotel in Malatya, where he was on a business trip.@PMOIndia@DrSJaishankar@MEAIndia
1/2— India in Türkiye (@IndianEmbassyTR) February 11, 2023
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 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.
