The body of Vijay Kumar Gaud, a native of Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, who had gone missing in Turkiye following the devastating earthquake, was discovered on Saturday by the search team.
The Indian embassy In Turkiye took to Twitter and confirmed: “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.”
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 Turkey (@IndianEmbassyTR) February 11, 2023
In another tweet, the embassy wrote: “Our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. We are making arrangements for the earliest possible transportation of his mortal remains to his family.”
Our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. We are making arrangements for the earliest possible transportation of his mortal remains to his family.@PMOIndia @DrSJaishankar @MEAIndia
2/2— India in Turkey (@IndianEmbassyTR) February 11, 2023
Kumar’s body was discovered under the ruins of the Avsar Hotel, a four-star facility in Malatya, in Turkiye’s eastern Anatolia area, where he had been residing since arriving on January 23.
According to reports, his family in India identified the body based on a tattoo on his left hand.
The body was discovered a day after there was renewed hope of finding him alive. On Friday, rescue personnel discovered Kumar’s passport and other items among the wreckage of the hotel where he was staying.
Kumar was sent to Turkey on official assignment by his Bengaluru-based firm to execute and commission a dissolved acetylene gas plant for a Turkish gas delivery company.
Kumar was scheduled to return to India on February 20, according to his brother, Arun Kumar Gaud, who works for the same company. “His phone rings, but no one responds,” Arun Kumar Gaud, Vijay Kumar Gaud’s elder brother, told PTI.
He stated that the family last spoke with Kumar on February 5, the day before the earthquake.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of External Affairs reported an Indian was missing and ten others were trapped but safe in rural areas of Turkey.
(With Inputs From Agencies)