The body of Indian man who had gone missing following the earthquakes in Turkey has been found from under the debris of a hotel in Malatya town, the Indian Embassy said on Saturday. The man has been identified as Vijay Kumar, who was on business trip to Malatya.

“Our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones,” the embassy tweeted. “We are making arrangements for the earliest possible transportation of his mortal remains to his family.”

The toll from the earthquakes, which struck Turkey and Syria on February 6, has risen to 28,000 with rescuers were still pulling out survivors from the ruins.

The earthquake of 7.8 magnitude had hit close to the Turkish city of Gaziantep early on February 6. It was followed by another of 7.5 magnitude and several aftershocks, causing widespread destruction.

A day later, Turkey had declared a three-month-long emergency in 10 provinces. The move will enable the government to bypass Parliament while enacting new laws to restrict or suspend rights and freedoms.

Kumar’s face was badly crushed but he identified due to his tatoo of “Om” on one of his hands, his family said quoting Indian embassy officials, reported PTI. He was a resident of Uttarakhand’s Pauri district. His clothes had been found on Friday.

There are about 3,000 Indians in Turkey, of whom about 1,850 live in and around Istanbul, around 250 in Ankara and the rest are spread all over the country.


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