A Dutchman has died in the earthquake in Turkey. It concerns 26-year-old Furkan Kazci (26) from Deventer. His family and the Center Mosque report this on social media. The young amateur football player of Turkish Power got under the rubble after the devastating earthquake in Turkey.
Kazci was on vacation in Kahramanmaraş, a city right in the epicenter of the earthquake zone. After the heavy shocks, no one could contact him anymore. Since Monday, there has been great uncertainty about his fate.
‘Rest in peace, my love’
His family traveled to southeastern Turkey to rescue him. But on Wednesday afternoon, his sister Melek announced on Facebook that Kazci had passed away. “Another life has been lost due to a lack of help. My Furkan died. Rest in peace, my love,” she wrote.
The blow is great in the Turkish-Dutch community of Deventer. They spent the last few days with the family. In the Center Mosque on Smyrnastraat, his disappearance was the talk of the day on Tuesday. Visitors still hoped for a happy ending.
‘Failing words’
The board of the mosque now calls on people in a Facebook message to pray for the relatives. Spokesman Oguzhan Akdemir answers the phone in tears. “I am in a deep valley of mourning. I’m at a loss for words, I can’t say more.”
“This is terrible,” said DENK councilor Ahmet Kaya. The news just reached him too. “This is inconceivable. On the one hand you keep hope, on the other hand you already realized that it took a long time. We’ll see what we can do for the family.”
Top scorer
At his amateur football club Turkish Power, all training sessions for this week had already been cancelled. Club director Yenal Izci indicates that members do not have their heads in football right now. Neither did he: ,,It is very double. On the one hand it is very nice to be busy with your daily things, but you also want to be there to help people.”
Kazci played in the first team of Turkish Power. He was a beloved player there, the club board previously indicated. Kazci was even the top scorer of his team this season. Previously, the Deventer was also active at the Deventer clubs Sallandia and Koninklijke UD.
Matches cancelled
Next Sunday’s league match against Robur et Velocitas has now been cancelled. Other (youth) competitions are also cancelled. “We wish his family and friends a lot of strength. As an association, we are also deeply touched,” his club writes in a Facebook message.
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