The remains of the former Ghanaian international footballer Christian Atsu, who died in the devastating earthquake in Turkey, were being flown home on Sunday, the country’s foreign ministry said.
Atsu, 31, was caught up in a 7.8-magnitude quake that rocked Turkey and Syria on 6 February, killing more than 44,000 people in both countries.
There were initial reports the former Chelsea and Newcastle player had been rescued a day after the quake, but these turned out to be false and his body was found on Saturday. “The remains will be accompanied by his family and Ghana’s ambassador to Turkey on a Turkish Airlines flight and will arrive in Accra at 7.40pm Sunday,” Ghana’s foreign ministry said.
On Saturday, the ministry said Atsu’s older brother and twin sister were present at the site of the rescue when his body was recovered.