Atsushi Miyazaki is being fondly remembered ahead of the anniversary of an earthquake in Türkiye that killed the young Japanese volunteer who was in the country to help survivors of an earlier disaster.

Miyazaki won the hearts of survivors both before and after his death, with his relief work in the eastern Turkish province of Van, which was rocked by an earthquake in October 2011. A second earthquake of a magnitude of 5.6 killed the doctor on Nov. 9, 2011, along with several others buried under the rubble of their hotel.

"He had so much to do," Otsuka Asako, a colleague of Miyazaki at Association for Aid and Relief (AAR Japan) said ahead of anniversary of his death.

Miyazaki came to the rescue of earthquake victims in Van province after it was struck by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. The second earthquake caused his hotel to collapse to rubble, and Miyazaki, badly injured, was taken out of the pile of debris following intense rescue operations but succumbed to his wounds at a hospital. With his smiling face and aid activities, even today he is recalled as the "hero of the earthquake" by the locals of the province. Every year, he is commemorated in the province where many streets, schools, parks and avenues have been named after him.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) Otsuka Asako said Miyazaki was a modest, cheerful man and never complained. "I remember him smiling before he embarked on his Türkiye trip and entrusted office work here in Tokyo to us. He liked keeping a low profile and when others praised his charity work, he downplayed it all the time. I am assured he would continue working here if he survived," she said.