Rescue workers search for victims at a collapsed building after a 6.4-magnitude second earthquake hit the Hatay province in southern Turkey, in Antakya, on February 20, 2023, two weeks after a 7.8-magnitude one hit the first time the same region. (Photo by Sameer Al-Doumy / AFP)
ISTANBUL: The body of Hatayspor sporting director Taner Savut has been recovered, the Turkish soccer club said on Tuesday, more than two weeks after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Turkey and neighboring Syria.
The February 6 quake killed nearly 46,000 people, including Ghana international forward Christian Atsu, who played for Hatayspor and lived in the same luxury 12-story building as Savut in Antakya, Hatay province.
Antakya, the city where Hatayspor is based, is in the southern region of Turkey hardest hit by the earthquake.
Dogs are seen on a street near the rubble of collapsed buildings, a day after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck the region, in the coastal city of Samandag on February 21, 2023. (Photo by Bulent Kilic / AFP)
Hatayspor said it was "deeply saddened” by Savut's death. Other top-flight clubs and the Turkish Football Federation expressed their condolences.
The contractor of the Ronesans Rezidans building - where Atsu and Savut lived - was detained at Istanbul Airport more than a week ago, apparently trying to leave the country.
