Ghanaian footballer Christian Atsu's funeral to be held on March 17

By Adam Abu-bashal

ABUJA (AA) - Ghanaian football player Christian Atsu, who was found dead nearly two weeks after the devastating earthquakes that struck Türkiye on Feb. 6, will be laid to rest in his native Ghana on March 17, Atsu’s family spokesman Robert Ann confirmed Monday.

Ann said a state funeral will be held for the former Atakas Hatayspor and Newcastle United player and his family will go on to mourn Atsu until his burial.

Atsu, 31, was found dead last month after going missing following the major twin earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye.

His body was sent to Ghana on Feb. 19.

Atsu, who joined Hatayspor last year, had previously played for several European teams including Everton, Chelsea and Newcastle United in the English Premier League as well as Portuguese club Porto.

He was a member of Porto's 2013 Portuguese championship squad.

Atsu also scored 10 goals in 60 caps for Ghana.

The death toll from the powerful earthquakes that struck southern Türkiye has risen to 48,448, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said Monday.

On Feb. 6, the magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes struck 11 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.