The two Indonesian citizens are Irma Lestari from Lombok and Ni Wayan Supini from Bali who were found in the ruins of the Galeria Apartment in Diyarbakir City on February 17, 2023.

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Two Indonesian citizens in the city of Diyarbakir, Turkiye, who failed to be contacted by the Indonesian Embassy in Ankara after the earthquake, were finally found dead.

The two Indonesian citizens are Irma Lestari from Lombok and Ni Wayan Supini from Bali who were found in the ruins of the Galeria Apartment in Diyarbakir City on February 17, 2023, according to the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a written statement as quoted by Indonesia Window, Monday.

With the discovery of the two bodies, the number of Indonesian citizens who died of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Turkiye and Syria on February 6, 2023 has risen to four.

Previously, on February 16, 2023, a joint team from the Indonesian Embassy in Ankara - INASAR (BASARNAS) led by the Director for Protection of Indonesian Citizens of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Judha Nugraha, departed for Diyarbakir to search for the two Indonesian citizens.

The team coordinated with AFAD (Turkiye Disaster Management Agency) for the search process at the Galeria Residence apartment, where the two Indonesian citizens lived.

The identities of the two bodies were confirmed after the identification process was carried out with the support of the Indonesian National Police's DVI (disaster victim identification) team which is currently in Hatay, a province located in the southernmost of Turkiye.

The Indonesian Ambassador to Turkiye, Lalu Muhamad Iqbal, has conveyed the sad news directly to their families in Indonesia.

"We are all very grieving. God willing, with the confirmation of the bodies of our two sisters, the Indonesian Embassy in Ankara and the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will immediately try to return the bodies to their respective hometowns," the ambassador said.

Currently the team is conducting the death care and bringing the bodies from Diyarbakir to Adana city for the process of returning to Indonesia. The bodies will depart from Adana to Jakarta on February 22, 2023.

Late Irma Lestari and late Ni Wayan Supini were Indonesian migrant workers who worked as professional spa therapists in Diyarbakir.

The apartment where they lived was completely destroyed by the earthquake. In total there were 89 victims who died in the apartment.

There are around 500 Indonesian citizens in the vicinity of the earthquake, 128 of them have been successfully evacuated by the Indonesian Embassy in Ankara, and the rest who are safe have received safe shelters around the earthquake area.

Among the Indonesian citizens who were victims of the earthquake, 10 people were seriously injured and have been treated by the Indonesian Embassy in Ankara.

Reporting by Indonesia Window