Missing B'luru firm executive found dead under rubble

PTI

Bengaluru: An Indian national missing in Turkiye since the massive earthquake on February 6 was found dead on Saturday in the rubble of a hotel where he was staying.

Vijay Kumar Gaud, who hailed from Uttarakhand’s Pauri district and was working for a Bengaluru-based company, had gone to Turkiye on an official assignment. With his face crushed beyond recognition, Gaud was identified with a tattoo of the word “Om” on one of his hands, his family said here quoting Indian embassy officials. Gaud was a resident of Padampur area in Kotdwar in Pauri district. His clothes had been found on Friday.

“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 Turkiye tweeted. Gaud’s wife and son, who were hoping against hope for some positive news, were inconsolable as their worst fears had come true.

Friends and relatives flocked to Gaud’s house to express their condolences to the bereaved family. 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 said quoting Indian embassy officials.

Gaud worked for Oxy Plant India Pvt Ltd and was on an official assignment, his elder brother Arun Kumar Gaud said. “His phone rings but no one responds,” Arun had told PTI after his brother went missing.