English football club Luton Town's jersey sold at auction for quake victims in Türkiye

By Behlul Cetinkaya

LONDON (AA) - A jersey signed by English football club Luton Town's players was sold at an auction Thursday to help the victims of February's devastating earthquakes in Türkiye.

John Boyle, a British citizen, paid £1,000 ($1,245) for the jersey.

Many people gathered at the iftar event held by the Luton Turkish Education and Culture Trust in Luton town, located 46 kilometers (29 miles) north of London.

Türkiye's Ambassador to the UK Osman Koray Ertas, Consul General to London Bekir Utku Atahan, Luton Mayor Sameera Saleem and Qurban Hussain, a member of the House of Lords, were among the attendees along with Turkish people living in the town.

Speaking at the iftar or fast-breaking meal, Ertas said that solidarity is among the important characteristics of the holy month of Ramadan.

Touching on the donations and fundraising campaigns by the Turkish community in the UK after the devastating earthquakes that killed more than 50,000 people in Türkiye, the ambassador thanked Turkish groups and organizations for their solidarity and efforts.

For his part, Lord Hussain called on the British government and citizens to help the quake-hit victims.

Türkiye is a strong country and will put everything in its place, he said, adding that the British people will nevertheless continue to do their best to extend a helping hand.

Meanwhile, round-trip Istanbul-London ticket donated by Wizz Air was sold for £600 ($747) to a Turkish citizen, Sahin Cebeci.

The Hungary-based low-cost carrier made its first flight to Istanbul Airport, taking off from London Luton Airport on March 28.

More than 50,000 people were killed on Feb. 6 when magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes struck 11 Turkish provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa.

More than 13.5 million people in Türkiye have been affected by the devastating quakes as well as many others in northern Syria.