Turkey Syria Earthquake: Heart Wrenching Tributes As Turkish Footballer Eyup Turkaslan Dies

• Turkish club Yeni Malatyaspor has confirmed that they have lost their goalkeeper to the earthquake
• Eyup Turkaslan was among the people who were trapped in the rubble but did not make it out alive
• The death toll in both countries is believed to be nearing 8,000 as rescue efforts continue

Turkish goalkeeper Eyup Turkaslan tragically lost his life after the catastrophic earthquake that hit his home country.

Turkey and Syria suffered devastating tremors on Monday morning that have so far claimed the lives of nearly 8,000 people, as per the Guardian, in what is arguably the worst disaster of this year.

Turkaslan was among the people trapped in the rubble and his club Yeni Malatyaspor has since confirmed that he passed on.

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"Our goalkeeper, Ahmet Eyüp Türkaslan, lost his life after being under the collapse of the earthquake. Rest in peace.

We will not forget you, beautiful person."

Tributes

The Mirror reports that Turkaslan's wife was saved from the rubble. Former English Premier League midfielder Yannick Bolasie led the tributes for the custodian.

"RIP brother Eyup Ahmet Turkaslan. One moment you can see someone in the dugout the next moment there gone my condolences to all his family and teammates at Yeni Malatyaspor. Devastating to hear and wish we can all continue to help everyone in need."

Turkaslan has passed on aged 28 years and has been at second-tier side Yeni Malatyaspor for two years now.

Christian Atsu found alive

In a contrasting set of events and good news, Sports Brief reported that Ghanaian winger, Christian Atsu has reportedly been found alive after hours of being buried under rubble, following the earthquake that hit Turkey.

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The 31-year-old went missing after the disaster hit the province of Hatay on Monday morning, just hours after he scored the winner in Hatayaspor's game against Kasimpasa.

The winger and the club's Sporting Director, Taner Savut were trapped under the wreckage after the building they were living in collapsed. According to reports coming in on Tuesday morning, the ex-Chelsea and Newcastle player has been found alive.