Ghana mourns player Atsu killed in Turkey earthquake
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[March 18, 2023]
ACCRA (Reuters) -
Ghanaians gathered outside the country's parliament building in Accra on
Friday for the state funeral of national soccer team winger Christian
Atsu, who died during the earthquake in southern Turkey last month.
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Casket of the late Ghanaian footballer
Christian Atsu Twasam, 31-year-old, is seen in his hometown in Ada,
Ghana March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko |
Atsu had gone missing after the Feb. 6
earthquake following the collapse of an apartment building in
Hatay. His body was later found under the rubble and flown back
to Ghana.
He was 31.
Mourners silently filed past Atsu's coffin, which arrived draped
in Ghana's national flag. Family, fans and beneficiaries of his
charitable donations remembered him as a philanthropist.
"He's even more than a football player," said Fedna Asare, a
family friend. "His name will forever be in our hearts because
he has helped a lot of people."
Atsu had been scheduled to fly out of southern Turkey hours
before the quake but the Ghanaian had opted to stay with the
club after scoring the winning goal in a Feb. 5 Super Lig match.
The disaster killed more than 54,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
(Reporting by Cooper Inveen; Editing by Nellie Peyton and Alex
Richardson)
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