Orlando newlyweds among dead in devastating Turkey-Syria earthquake, found wrapped in each others’ arms

A newlywed Orlando couple were found wrapped in each other’s arms in the rubble of their apartment building in Turkey after last week’s devastating quake.

Alex and Veronika Ilgin had been married just seven months and were spending time with family on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, planning to start a family of their own, Alex Ilgin’s business partner and longtime best friend Vasilious “Billy” Poulos told the Orlando Sentinel.

“It’s very comforting to know that they were side by side,” Poulos told WOFL-TV.

The pair were among the more than 33,000 people who perished in the 7.8-magnitude earthquake and its aftershocks on Feb. 6 in temblors that hit Turkey and Syria. A family of four from Queens, N.Y., were also among those killed.

[ Queens family of four among dead in devastating Turkey-Syria earthquake ]

Rescuers found Alex Ilgin’s mother on Wednesday and the couple on Thursday. Alex Ilgin’s brother identified their buried bodies under the rubble.

They got been married in July. Alex Ilgin was a mortgage broker, and they were about to buy a home, friend Alex Hernandez told WOFL-TV. Veronika Ilgin worked as a nurse at Orlando Health.

The couple were “just so kind,” Poulos said. “Selfless in all of their actions. Always put others before themselves.”

He launched an online funding drive to raise money both for the family and for earthquake victims in Turkey. There’s also a memorial service scheduled Monday night at a restaurant where Poulos and Ilgin used to meet up, the bereaved buddy said. A portion of those proceeds, too, will go toward victims.

“I have been told by boots on the ground that they need supplies badly,” Poulos told WFTV-TV. “So, of course, I want to help Alex and Veronika’s family because they’ve lost everything, but also give resources directly to the people who need it.”