Izuchukwu OkosiYeni Malatyaapor of Turkey goalkeeper Etup Turkaslan has been found dead under a rubble following the earthquake that struck Monday night and killed scores of people numbering over 1,651 including some football players.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) extended its sympathies for those affected.
The impact of the earthquake affected northern Syria too, with the nation’s Health Ministry and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance reporting 968 people have been killed and 1,280 injured.
Former Syrian striker Nader Joukhadar – who scored nine international goals in 14 appearances for his national football team – was reported dead, as was his son.
Former Ghana international, Christian Atsu, was among those stuck under rubble although the onetime Everton forward was said to have been one of those saved from danger.
Another 11,119 have been injured in the 7.8 and 7.7 magnitude quakes.
Turkish Youth and Sports Minister Mehmet Kasapoğlu has consequently suspended all sports activity in Turkey until further notice after earthquakes hit the Kahramanmaraş province in the south of the country killing more than two thousand people in the country and neighbouring Syria.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been inundated with condolence messages from world leaders on the demise of thousands of Turks.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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