Turkish basketball player Nilay Aydogan, 30, has been found dead following last week’s devastating earthquake in Turkey, the sport’s federation in the country has announced.
Aydogan who played for Turkish Super League side Cankaya University, had reportedly gone to visit her grandmother in Malayta when Aydogan’s grandmother’s apartment complex collapsed as the earthquake struck, according to The Sun.
The basketball player and her grandmother were found dead among the rubble, with the search continuing in hundreds of Turkish and northern Syrian settlements to try and find people still alive.
In a statement, the Turkish Basketball Federation said that they had learned of the news with ‘deep sadness’.
‘We have learned with deep sadness that Nilay Aydogan, the national player of Cankaya University, one of the ING Women’s Basketball Super League teams, lost her life in the earthquake disaster,’ they said.
‘May God have mercy on the deceased, we offer our condolences to her family, relatives and basketball community.’
Malayta, where Aydogan was reportedly visiting, is roughly 135 miles east of Kahramanmaras, close to the border with Syria.
The search is continuing in hundreds of Turkish and northern Syrian settlements to try and find people still alive, with the death toll now at 33,000.
Aydogan’s final game for Cankaya came in a victory against Hatayspor days before the earthquake struck.
The basketball player is the latest high profile sports star to be affected by the earthquake. The search for ex-Premier League star Christian Atsu still continues.
Hatayspor ace Atsu went missing following the earthquake last week and is yet to be found despite some reports stating he had been found and was in hospital.
