An Indian national, Vijay Kumar, died from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on February 6, 2023.

Vijay Kumar, 36 years old and from Uttarakhand, was on a business trip in Turkey and staying at Avsar Hostel in Malatya.

Vijay Kumar was a technician for Bengaluru-based gas-plant company Oxyplant India Pvt Ltd.

He was in Turkey to install and commission an acetylene gas plant.

According to reports, he had been missing since the earthquake, and his body was recovered from the debris of the hotel where he was staying.

The Indian Embassy in Ankara confirmed the death of Vijay Kumar in a tweet and expressed their condolences to his family.

Furthermore, the embassy stated that they are arranging to transport his remains back to his family as soon as possible.

Kumar is survived by his wife, Pinky Gaur, and their 6-year-old son. He had worked for Oxyplant India for over a year after working for a Delhi-based company.

The death toll from the earthquake has now surpassed 24,450 across southern Turkey and northwest Syria.

Questions are being raised about the country’s earthquake planning and response time, with Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan acknowledging that authorities should have reacted faster.