Turkey: The captain of the handball team and his five-year-old son died in the earthquake

This Tuesday, a week after the catastrophic earthquake that hit southern Turkey and northern Syria and which has claimed more than 35,000 lives so far, the International Handball Federation announced the death of the captain of the Turkish handball team Cemal Kutahya, and her five-year-old son chinar.

“It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of the captain of the Turkish men’s national team., Cemal Kütahya and their 5-year-old son Çınar, who were under the rubble caused by the earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday. He was an important part of the national indoor team,” he quoted in the statement shared by the IHF.

According to the statement, both the player and his five-year-old son were trapped under the rubble of their home, located in the city of Antioquia.

Cemal, at 32, was a member of He Hatay Büyüksehir Belediyesporde of the Turkish Handball Federation, and another statement reported the procedure that will be performed with the body, respecting the times of Turkish culture. “The captain of our men’s national handball team, our dear Cemal Kütahya and our little boy Çınar Kütahya They will be buried tomorrow at the Konya Kurtuluş cemetery. When the mosque and prayer time is determined, we will share it with our community,” she quoted in a letter.

After the confirmation of having found the lifeless bodies of Cemal and his son Cinar, the club confirmed that the search for his wife continues with “patient waiting and rescue”. Pelin Kutyafour months pregnant, and her mother-in-law too, feed mutlumissing since the Monday when the catastrophe occurred.

The last match Cemal played representing the national team was the October 16 last year when he had to face North Macedonia thinking about qualifying for the European Championship to be held in 2024. Adding up the appearances that the player has had between indoor handball and beach handball, he played with the national team more than 150 matches.

Nilay Aydogan, another athlete victim of the earthquake

The devastating situation that Turkey is experiencing continues to add victims. This Tuesday, in addition to the physical disappearance of Cemal and his son Cinar, it was also confirmed that the Turkish professional basketball player Nilay Aydogan She was found dead in the earthquake, the Turkish basketball federation was able to confirm.

“It is with deep sadness that we learned that Nilay Aydogan, the national player of Cankaya University, one of the teams in the ING Women’s Basketball Super League, he lost his life in the earthquake“The federation said in a statement.

Aydogan, from 30 years, had traveled to Malaysia to visit her grandmother when the devastating earthquake struck, collapsing the apartment building they were both in, according to Turkish media. Both the athlete and his grandmother they were found dead in the rubble of the building.

Malayta it is more than 150 kilometers east of Kahramanmaras, where the epicenter of the earthquake was located in the southeast of the country that caused more than 35,000 deaths in Turkey and Syria.

Through social networks, the Turkish Basketball Federation shared an image captured during the funeral prayer which was held in the presence of the “President of the Turkish Basketball Federation (TBF), Hidayet Turkoğluthe vice president of TBF, Omer Onanand TBF executives, as well as many names in the sports community,” the tweet explained.

After the ceremony, Aydogan’s body was transferred and buried in Kasımpaşa Kulaksız Cemetery.

Aydogan had played for several second and first division teams during his career in Turkey. He had also been international in the lower leagues of the country and at the beginning of his professional career.