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Ghana Footballer Found Dead in Türkiye Quake Rubble

Rescuers search for survivors under the rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Türkiye February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar
Rescuers search for survivors under the rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Türkiye February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar
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Ghana Footballer Found Dead in Türkiye Quake Rubble

Rescuers search for survivors under the rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Türkiye February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar
Rescuers search for survivors under the rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Türkiye February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar

Former Ghana international Christian Atsu was found dead on Saturday under the rubble of his home almost two weeks after a devastating earthquake in Türkiye.

Atsu, 31, was caught up in a 7.8-magnitude quake that rocked Türkiye and Syria on February 6, killing more than 43,000 people in both countries.

There were initial reports the former Chelsea and Newcastle player had been rescued a day after the quake, but these turned out to be false.

His manager in Türkiye, Murat Uzunmehmet, told DHA news agency on Saturday that his body had been found under the rubble of luxury flats that crumbled in the Turkish southern province of Hatay.

"We have reached his lifeless body. His belongings are still being removed. His phone was also found," Uzunmehmet told DHA.

"It's with a heavy heart that I have to announce to everyone the body of Christian Atsu was found this morning," his Ghana agent Nana Sechere tweeted.

According to AFP, Ghana's ministry of foreign affairs said it had "received the unfortunate news".

"The elder brother and twin sister of Christian Atsu and an officer of the (Ghanaian) embassy were present at the site when the body was recovered," the ministry said in a statement.

Midfielder Atsu scored the last of his 33 career goals for Hatayspor in Türkiye's Super Lig on February 5, hours before the quake struck.

"There are no words to describe our sadness," tweeted his Turkish top-flight club.

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Ferrari Wins the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Third Year in a Row

The 24 Hours of Le Mans - Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France - June 15, 2025 AF Corse's Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Philip Hanson celebrate with the chequered flag after winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans. (Reuters)
The 24 Hours of Le Mans - Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France - June 15, 2025 AF Corse's Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Philip Hanson celebrate with the chequered flag after winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans. (Reuters)
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Ferrari Wins the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Third Year in a Row

The 24 Hours of Le Mans - Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France - June 15, 2025 AF Corse's Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Philip Hanson celebrate with the chequered flag after winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans. (Reuters)
The 24 Hours of Le Mans - Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France - June 15, 2025 AF Corse's Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Philip Hanson celebrate with the chequered flag after winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans. (Reuters)

Ferrari won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the third year running Sunday but a late surge from Porsche Penske Motorsport denied the Italian manufacturer a podium sweep.

The No. 83 Ferrari 499P crew of Robert Kubica, Ye Yifei and Philip Hanson took the win as Ferrari won for the 12th time in the 102nd edition of the storied race. Their bright-yellow car, privately entered by the AF Corse team, got the better of Porsche and the two official factory-entered Ferraris.

Kubica took the checkered flag after a marathon spell at the wheel Sunday afternoon to make sure of the win.

“It has been a long 24 hours,” Kubica said to his team over the radio and thanked them in Italian. “Enjoy.”

The Penske-operated No. 6 Porsche 963 of Kévin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Matt Campbell surged late in the race to finish second ahead of the two other Ferraris, 14 seconds behind the winner.

For Kubica and Ye, it was redemption after their car — then with Robert Shwartzman as third driver — was a strong contender to win last year's race before a crash, a penalty and finally a race-ending mechanical failure.

It’s a career highlight for 40-year-old Polish driver Kubica, whose promising Formula 1 career was interrupted in 2011 when a crash while competing in a rally left him with severe injuries.

Kubica is the first driver from Poland to win Le Mans outright, and Ye is the first from China to achieve that feat.

“It’s a great story that we finally put a perfect ending with Robert,” Ye told broadcasters. “It looks easier from the outside than it is in the car. It’s just unbelievable.”

Ferrari was off the pace in qualifying, with the two factory cars 7th and 11th on the grid and the eventual winner 13th. But once tennis great Roger Federer waved the starting flag Saturday, Ferrari’s pace over long race runs soon became clear.

After a close fight with Toyota in last year’s race, this time Ferrari often seemed in near-total control. Early Sunday morning, it was on target for the first top-class podium sweep by one manufacturer since 2012.

Ferrari didn’t have it all its own way in the final hours, though.

Alessandro Pier Guidi spun in the No. 51 car on his way into the pits, losing the lead, while the resurgent No. 6 Porsche piled on the pressure.

Le Mans is as much a test of drivers’ resilience as it is the cars’ reliability. Both held up well in an unusually calm race that avoided much of the usual nighttime drama with few significant crashes and just one safety-car period.

Polish team Inter Europol Competition won the LMP2 class and Manthey won the GT3 class in a Porsche 911.