Ghanaians gathered outside the country’s parliament building in Accra on Friday for the state funeral of national football team winger Christian Atsu, who died during the earthquake that struck southern Turkey last month.
Atsu disappeared after the February 6 earthquake, which caused the collapse of an apartment building in Hatay. His body was later found under the rubble and flown to Ghana. Atsu was 31 years old.
Mourners stood silently in front of Atsu’s coffin, which arrived draped in Ghana’s flag. Atsuo was remembered by his family, all his fans and those who benefited from his charitable donations as a benefactor.
Fadna Asari, a friend of the family, said: He is more than just a football player. His name will remain in our hearts forever because he helped so many people.
Atsu was due to fly in from southern Turkey hours before the quake, but the Ghanaian chose to stay with his club after scoring the winning goal in a Turkish league match on February 5.
The disaster killed more than 54,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
