New Delhi, Feb 10 (PTI) A group of G20 delegates on Friday visited an iconic memorial in Gujarat's Bhuj, which was built after a deadly 2001 earthquake, and expressed their condolences over the loss of lives in Turkiye and Syria due to a recent quake that has left behind a trail of death and destruction in the two countries.

Turkiye is a member of the Group of 20 (G20), an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies.

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Turkiye's disaster management agency has said more than 19,300 people in the country have been killed in the disaster, while over 77,000 have been injured.

More than 3,300 people have been killed in Syria, putting the total number of fatalities past 22,000, according to international media reports.

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More than 100 G20 delegates, including those from India and foreign countries, took part in the influential bloc's first meeting under the tourism track at the pristine Rann of Kutch in Gujarat from February 7 to 9.

"On Friday, they visited Smriti Van -- an iconic memorial in Bhuj built after the deadly 2001 earthquake. Condolences were offered for the quake victims in Syria and Turkiye at the Bhuj memorial," a senior official said.

The Ministry of Tourism tweeted: "The esteemed guests were then guided to the museum displaying the history of Rann of Kutch and the geography of tectonic plates that upholds this scenic destination."

Their visit came days after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake and several powerful aftershocks hit Turkiye and Syria.

The Smriti Van memorial, which celebrates the resilience shown by people during the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat's Kutch region, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August last year.

The grand structure, the first such memorial in the country according to a Gujarat government official, is spread over 470 acres on Bhujio Hill, near Bhuj town.

It celebrates the spirit of resilience in the wake of the deaths of nearly 13,000 people in the earthquake on January 26, 2001, which had its epicentre in Bhuj.

The memorial carries the names of those who lost their lives in the disaster. It also has the state-of-the-art Smriti Van Earthquake Museum.

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