Dhe handball world mourns Cemal Kütahya. After the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, the captain of the Turkish national team was found dead from the rubble. Kütahya’s five-year-old son also died. This was announced by the World Handball Federation IHF on Tuesday.
“It is with deep sadness that we learned of the death of Cemal Kutahya, the captain of our men’s national handball team, and his son Cinar Kutahya, who were buried under the rubble of their home in the city of Antakya,” the Turkish official press release said Handball Federation (THF). “The suffering of the people in Turkey and Syria is immeasurable,” said DHB President Andreas Michelmann when asked by SID: “The death of Cemal Kütayah and his son affects us and the entire handball family. The earthquake shows us how vulnerable our lives are in the face of such catastrophes.”
The 32-year-old Kütahya had last played for the Turkish club Hatay Büyüksehir Belediyespor. He was also one of the best beach handball players in his country, for which he had advanced to the top scorer at the Beach European Championship 2021 with 151 goals. “Following this enormous and unprecedented tragedy, the IHF would like to express its condolences to the family and friends of Kütahya and also to the hard-hit nations of Turkey and Syria,” the IHF wrote on its website.
More than 2400 aftershocks
In the early morning of February 6, the first 7.7-magnitude tremor shook the Turkish-Syrian border region, followed hours later by a second 7.6-magnitude tremor. Since then there have been more than 2,400 aftershocks. The number of confirmed dead was more than 37,500 as of early Tuesday morning, and more than 80,000 people were injured. Thousands continue to be missing.
Because of the earthquake, Qatar now wants to donate mobile accommodation for the 2022 World Cup to the survivors of the earthquake. These should offer people accommodation, according to the US news agency AP, the authorities of the Gulf state said on Tuesday. During last year’s World Cup, cabins and caravans were needed to accommodate some of the 1.4 million fans. As the Qatari development aid fund announced, 350 shelters were sent out on Sunday.
In addition to Qatar, other wealthy Gulf states have also pledged help: The United Arab Emirates, for example, want to donate 100 million dollars for aid measures. The first plane from Saudi Arabia landed in Syria on Tuesday with 35 tons of food, medicine and tents, and more are to follow.
