Turkey Earthquake: Missing Indian Man Found Dead Under Rubble, Family Identifies Body Through Tattoo

An Indian national missing in the aftermath of the massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria, was confirmed dead on Saturday, the Indian Embassy said. The victim, Vijay Kumar Gaud’s body was found in the debris of a four-star hotel in Turkey’s Malatya area. Due to injuries on his face, Gaud was identified with a tattoo of the word “Om” on one of his hands, embassy officials were quoted as saying.

Gaud, a resident of Uttrakhand’s Kotdwar, worked for Bengaluru-based Oxyplants India Private Limited and was on a business trip to Turkey when the earthquake hit the region on Monday.

“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,” the Indian Embassy in Turkey said in a tweet.

Arrangements are being made for the earliest possible transportation of his mortal remains to his family, it added. His body will first be flown to Istanbul and then taken to Delhi. It may take three days for his body to reach Kotdwar, family sources were quoted as saying.

Secretary (West) in the MEA Sanjay Verma had on Wednesday stated that one Indian was missing in one of the affected areas in Turkey while 10 others were stuck in some remote parts but deemed safe.

Gaud was on a business trip to Turkey. “He has not been traced for the last two days. We have been in touch with his family and the company in Bengaluru which employs him,” Verma had said.

Gaud’s wife and six-year-old son had last talked to him on the phone on February 5 and was to return to India on February 20, his elder brother Arun Kumar Gaud had told PTI.

Meanwhile, Children and elderly were being pulled out of the rubble on Saturday five days after an earthquake devastated parts of Turkey and Syria on Monday as the death toll crossed a grim 25,000 mark.

India launched “Operation Dost” to extend assistance to Turkiye as well as Syria following the devastation. Three NDRF teams comprising 152 personnel are deployed in Turkiye for undertaking relief and rescue operations.

An eight-year-old girl was pulled out from the debris of a building on Friday by NDRF personnel during a rescue operation in Nurdagi town of Gaziantep province along with Turkish army personnel. Rescuers have saved two lives, including a six-year-old girl on Thursday and retrieved 13 bodies from the debris till Friday, an official statement by NDRF said.

The number of Indians residing in Turkiye was around 3,000, out of which about 1,800 live in and around Istanbul, while 250 were in Ankara and the rest were spread all over the country.

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