THE indian embassy in Ankara confirmed on Saturday that the body of Uttarakhand engineer Vijay Kumar was dug up from under the rubble of the four-star Avsar Hotel Malatya city where the father of two had stayed after landing in Turkiye on January 23, 2023, for a project awarded to his Bangalore-based company Oxyplants. Oxyplants had initially asked an engineer from Bangalore to go to Turkiye for the project. But Kumar was eager to accept the job and asked to be sent instead.
“…the mortal remains of Shri Vijay Kumar, an Indian national who was missing in Turkiye since the February 6 earthquake, have been found and identified in the rubble of a hotel in Malatya, where he was on a business trip,” he tweeted the Indian Embassy. “Our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. We are making arrangements for the transportation of his mortal remains to his family as soon as possible,” the embassy added.
Embassy officials were monitoring rescue efforts in the city of Malatya in the eastern Anatolia region, hoping to find Kumar alive.
On Friday morning, rescuers searching the 66-room Avsar Hotel in ruins found his passport and bags, raising hopes among family and friends in Uttarakhand and Bangalore that Kumar might be alive.
“On Saturday afternoon we received the devastating news that the mangled body of Vijay Kumar was found under the rubble of the structure which had sunk a meter after the earthquake. His older brother identified the body from a tattoo on his left arm from photographs sent by Indian authorities,” Oxyplants chief executive Ramesh Siddappa told TOI.
Kumar had volunteered for the trip while working from home in Uttarakhand. He arrived in Bengaluru in the first week of January for training. He was due back in mid-February.
“…the mortal remains of Shri Vijay Kumar, an Indian national who was missing in Turkiye since the February 6 earthquake, have been found and identified in the rubble of a hotel in Malatya, where he was on a business trip,” he tweeted the Indian Embassy. “Our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. We are making arrangements for the transportation of his mortal remains to his family as soon as possible,” the embassy added.
Embassy officials were monitoring rescue efforts in the city of Malatya in the eastern Anatolia region, hoping to find Kumar alive.
On Friday morning, rescuers searching the 66-room Avsar Hotel in ruins found his passport and bags, raising hopes among family and friends in Uttarakhand and Bangalore that Kumar might be alive.
“On Saturday afternoon we received the devastating news that the mangled body of Vijay Kumar was found under the rubble of the structure which had sunk a meter after the earthquake. His older brother identified the body from a tattoo on his left arm from photographs sent by Indian authorities,” Oxyplants chief executive Ramesh Siddappa told TOI.
Kumar had volunteered for the trip while working from home in Uttarakhand. He arrived in Bengaluru in the first week of January for training. He was due back in mid-February.
