Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has confirmed the recovery of the remains of Christian Atsu, a Ghana-born international soccer star, from the rubbles of his apartment in earthquake devastated Turkey.
The catastrophic earthquake struck parts of Turkey and Syria on February 6, 2023 and claimed more than 11,000 lives with thousands of buildings toppled in what has been adjudged the world’s deadliest quake in more than a decade.
The world watched videos of the horrific scenes of buildings collapsing and people running helter-skelter for their dear lives. Overstretched search and rescue teams spent long hours going through the rubbles of destroyed buildings in the hope that they would find survivors.
In a statement on Saturday, February 18, 2023, the Ghana Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration stated that the elder brother and twin sister of Atsu as well as an Officer of the Ghanaian Embassy in Turkey were present at the site of the disaster when Atsu’s body was recovered same Saturday morning “after almost 12 days of tortuous search by a rescue team.”
According to the statement, the Government of Ghana “extends to the widow and family of Christian Atsu our deepest condolences,” noting that the “Embassy is currently making the necessary arrangements with the assistance of the Government of Turkey to have the body transported to Ghana for burial.”
It assured that the public will be updated on further developments.
