The body of Sydney man Can Pahali has been found in Turkey after powerful earthquakes devastated the country and neighbouring Syria, in the first confirmed Australian death of the tragedy.

Pahali’s family issued a desperate plea to the Australian government on Wednesday after they were unable to find out whether the Glebe man was dead or alive.

Pahali, who was in his 50s, was visiting his sister in the province of Hatay when the two major earthquakes hit the region.

Unable to get answers, a number of Pahali’s family members had flown to Turkey in a desperate attempt to find him and search the area where he had been staying.

Pahali’s niece Katherine told the Herald and The Age a relative, who had flown from Germany, managed to find Pahali’s body among the rubble and pull his body out.

“A piece of my heart passed away,” she said on Thursday morning. “He was left to die for over 60 hours. There’s no such thing as authorities in Turkey. It’s every man for themselves.”

Glebe man Can Pahali has been found dead in the earthquake in Turkey.

More than 11,000 people have been confirmed dead after the two earthquakes, which recorded 7.8 and 7.5 on the magnitude scale.

Katherine was critical of the response from Australian authorities during the crisis and said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) was yet to get in touch with the family.

Katherine Pahali, her husband, and her uncle Can.

“The government didn’t help save their own citizen,” she said.

Pahali, who was known to friends as John, was an active member of Sydney’s inner-city suburb of Glebe.

On Wednesday, before Pahali had been found, his friend Julie Brackenreg took to social media to inform the Glebe community he was missing.

Brackenreg said he would regularly stop for a chat at the Glebe Community Op Shop and would make “wonderful” food for the local community cafe.

“Pray for him and his family in Turkey and here in Australia,” she wrote.

In their latest statement, DFAT said four Australians have been confirmed missing in the tragedy, including Pahali.

“DFAT is providing consular assistance to around 40 other Australians, and their families, who were in the earthquake area and asked for support with crisis accommodation, short-term loans and travel documents,” the statement said.

“We acknowledge how difficult the situation is for all those family members with loved ones impacted by the earthquake.”

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