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Pallbearers carry the coffin of late Ghanaian footballer Christian Atsu Twasam, 31, during a state-assisted funeral in Accra, Ghana, March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko
ACCRA – Ghanaians gathered outside the country’s parliament building in Accra on Friday for the state funeral of national soccer team winger Christian Atsu, who was killed in an earthquake in southern Turkey last month.
Atsu has been missing since the February 6 earthquake after the collapse of an apartment building in Hatay. His body was later found under the rubble and flown back to Ghana.
He is 31 years old.
Mourners silently filed past Atsu’s coffin, which came draped in the national flag of Ghana. His family, fans, and beneficiaries of his charitable donations remember him as a philanthropist.
“He was even more than a football player,” said Fedna Asare, a family friend. “His name will always be in our hearts because he helped so many people.”
Read: Key points one month after the Turkey earthquake
Atsu had been scheduled to fly out of southern Turkey hours before the quake, but the Ghanaian has opted to stay with the club after scoring the winning goal in the February 5 Super Lig match.
The disaster killed more than 54,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
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