Turkish celebrity in China reportedly found dead by rescuers in southern Türkiye

Despite some media outlets on Friday reported the death of Idris Talha Kartav, a Turkish celebrity in China, in two massive earthquakes that struck southern Türkiye, Chinese netizens are still praying for his safety as no one has heard from him in the last five days.

Kartav, 31, a Turkish guest on the popular Chinese variety show "Informal Talks" since 2016, was well-known in China and was known there by his Chinese name, Tang Xiaoqiang.

China's state-run broadcast CGTN reported that Kartav was found dead by rescuers in the ruins of a hotel on Tuesday.

However, China's daily Global Times reported on Friday that "lots of Chinese netizens have been praying for the celebrity as well as other people suffering from the earthquake, hoping that they can pull through from the damage of the disaster as soon as possible."

On Wednesday, a report published on Sina Weibo, a Chinese microblogging website, quoted his family as saying that a search and rescue operation was continuing in the area where it was believed to be staying in a hotel, according to the daily.

Kartav has been developing his career in China for a few years and has become known by his Chinese name, Tang Xiaoqiang, the daily said.

He gained popularity due to his sense of humor and discussions on various cultural topics, while the Chinese say they admire him for his respect for Chinese culture and people.

Kartav came to China in 2010 and graduated from Xiamen University in southeast Fujian Province and was a regular guest of Hubei TV's "Informal Talks" show, one of the broadcast's most popular programs for young people.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, Kartav became a community volunteer and helped many people in Xiamen.

"Because of this, many netizens affectionately call him 'Brother Tang'," Hubei TV reported.

At least 18,991 people were killed and 75,523 others injured by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Monday, the country's disaster agency said on Friday.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 10 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

More than 120,344 search and rescue personnel are currently working in the disaster zone, according to Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, with over 80,000 people evacuated from areas affected by the earthquakes.