Turkish basketball player Nilay Aydogan and her grandmother found dead in Malayta
Turkish basketball player Nilay Aydogan has been found dead following last week’s devastating earthquake, the sport’s federation in the country has announced.
Aydogan, 30, who played for Turkish Super League side Cankaya University, had reportedly gone to visit her grandmother in Malayta when the devastating earthquake struck, collapsing the apartment block.
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, in the south east of the country, close to the border with Syria.