Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/ACCRA: The body of late footballer Christian Atsu, who died in a deadly earthquake that hit Türkiye two weeks ago, has been returned to his native country Ghana.
The flight carrying his remains landed in the capital Accra late Sunday, and his coffin was carried away by members of Ghana’s armed forces.
Atsu’s body was found under his home in southern Türkiye on Saturday. The 31-year-old had been playing for the Hatayspor club, the BBC said.
He played 65 times for Ghana’s national team, helping it reach the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations final.
The winger also played for Premier League sides Everton and Newcastle.
Speaking at Kotoka airport in Accra, Ghana’s Vice-President Mahamudu Bawmia said: “We hoped against hope, praying and praying on every day that passed. But alas, when he was found, he was no more.”
Bawmia added that Atsu was much loved and would be greatly missed. “It is a painful loss, a very painful one.”
He promised the late footballer would be given a “befitting” burial.
Atsu’s apartment had collapsed in the quake
Atsu had been missing since the catastrophic 7.8 magnitude earthquake on February 6 caused his apartment, located in Antakya in the hard-hit Hatay province, to collapse.
His agent confirmed his death on Twitter on Saturday.
Over 44,000 people have lost their lives in the deadly earthquake that struck south-eastern Türkiye and northern Syria, with the search and rescue process still underway.
The late footballer’s family and Ghana’s ambassador to Türkiye, Francisca Ashietey-Odunton, accompanied his coffin from Turkiye, Ghana’s foreign ministry said.
The plane landed in Accra at 19:25 GMT Sunday, where relatives met it, government officials and the Ghana Football Association representatives.
