Ankara/Damascus, Feb 12 : The combined death toll in the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on February 6 has surpassed 28,000.

Turkey's death toll climbed to 24,617, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said in a news conference. In Syria, the total number of confirmed deaths stands at 3,575, including 2,167 in rebel-held areas in the northwest, according to the White Helmets civil defence group. An additional 1,408 deaths have been recorded in government-controlled territories, according to Syrian state media, which cited the country's health ministry. Meanwhile, an Indian national missing since the earthquake in Turkey on February 6 was found dead under the debris of a hotel in Malatya, the Indian Embassy in Turkey informed in a tweet on Saturday. The deceased, identified as Vijay Kumar, was on a business trip to Turkey. "We received a report yesterday that his luggage and passport were found but there wasn't a body. We were hoping for his well-being, that he would have escaped. His father had passed away around a month back and now this has happened," said Gaurav Kala, a relative of Vijay Kumar. Kumar's family members were in deep shock as they learned of the tragic news. They cried inconsolably. He is survived by his mother, wife, and six-year-old child. He had lost his father about one and a half months back.