The body of international footballer Christian Atsu, who was killed in the devastating Türkiye earthquake, has arrived home in Ghana.
Initial reports said Atsu had survived, but it has since been established that the former Chelsea and Newcastle footballer was one of the more than 43 000 people who died in the earthquake that devastated Türkiye and Syria.
Atsu’s death was announced on Saturday by his agent Nana Sechere, who said the player’s body was found 12 days after the earthquake.
In the English Premier League, Atsu also played for Everton and Porto. He was playing for Türkiye Super Lig side Hatayspor at the time of his death.
The 31-year-old scored the winning goal in his last game he played for Hatayspor a day before disaster struck on 6 February 2023.
Atsu was living in an apartment building in the southern Türkiye city of Antakya, one of the cities hit hardest by the earthquake.
One day after the disaster struck, there were reports that Atsu had been found alive.
However, the club Hatayspor later admitted it had received incorrect information.
Atsu’s elder brother, his twin sister, and an officer of the Ghana Embassy were present at the site when the body was recovered from the rubble of his apartment.
The footballer’s body arrived in Ghana on Sunday.