Ahmed Musa, the captain of the Super Eagles and a winger for Sivasspor, says Nigerian supporters shouldn’t be dismayed about his safety in the wake of Monday’s powerful earthquake in the Southeast of Turkey.
A devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southeast Turkey on Monday, destroying structures and wreaking havoc in seven Turkish provinces as well as northern Syria. Tremors from the earthquake were felt as far away as Cairo, Egypt.
According to the US Geological Survey, the strong tremor occurred on Monday around 4.17 a.m. local time in south-eastern Turkey, close to the Syrian border.
Around seven provinces in Turkey and a sizable portion of northern Syria were affected by the earthquake, which had its epicenter close to the city of Gaziantep at a depth of 17.9 kilometers.
Musa replied, “Thank you very much, I’m okay here (in Turkey),” when asked about his safety there.
“Pray for Turkey,” Musa wrote in another tweet. A broken-hearted emoji was used in the message.
Additionally, the health of his countrymen David Babajide and Henry Onyekurn, who work for Adana Dermispor in Adana, one of the ten cities hit by the initial earthquake along with Hatay, Osmaniye, Adiyaman, Malatya, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, and Kilis, was confirmed to the media by Babajide’s agent Abiodun Tella.
Tella said, “I just spoke with Babajide now (Monday evening) and he was company with Henry (Onyekuru); they are fine.”
“They just completed a mild training session in a closed place and I pray they remain safe there as well because the reports from that area are very disturbing. Their league has been put on hold and schools shut to ensure lives are not lost.”
Fears generated by lots of well-wishers due to the tragic earthquake, which has seen a combined death toll in Turkey and Syria grow to at least 2,300 as of Monday evening, were also allayed by former U-23 captain Okechukwu Azubuike and Ibrahim Olawoyin, both of whom play for Rizespor in Turkey’s second tier division.
Azubuike said, “We thank God that we are alive here, the earthquake didn’t get here and we pray it won’t.”
Following rumours that Christian Atsu was trapped in the horrific earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday, Ghanaians and Newcastle supporters are awaiting news of their former player with great anticipation.
Multiple sources in Turkey claim that the sporting director, Taner Savut, and the 31-year-old Ghanaian winger, who is currently representing Hatayspor in Turkey, are missing after the club’s players and personnel were rescued from the wreckage.
Turkey is located in one of the seismically active regions of the planet. According to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the catastrophe on Monday was the biggest to hit the nation since the Erzincan earthquake in eastern Turkey in 1939, which claimed approximately 33,000 lives.
However, Turkey’s northwest was the scene of another terrible earthquake in 1999 that claimed more than 17,000 lives.
“I convey my best wishes to all our citizens who were affected by the earthquake that occurred in Kahramanmaraş and was felt in many parts of our country,” Erdogan said in a statement.
“All our relevant units are on alert under the coordination of AFAD (the disaster and emergency management presidency).
“Our search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched to the areas affected by the earthquake. Our Ministry of Interior and Health, AFAD, Governorships and all other institutions started their work rapidly.
“We also coordinate the works initiated after the earthquake. We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage, and we continue our work.”
There have been many thousands of injuries, including at least 5,385 in Turkey and 2,000 in Syria.
