Viral photos of Christian Atsu’s coffin on Turkish Airline: All you need to know

There are some images purporting to be that of the mortal remains of Christian Atsu, the late Black Stars player being loaded onto a plane.

In the said photo, which has been making the rounds on social media, a coffin wrapped in a white sack is seen on a loading panel ostensibly at a Turkish airport.

There have been different interpretations to the set of photos with some claiming it was of the body getting ready to be transported to Ghana whiles others said it was of the arrival of the body in Accra.

GhanaWeb Factcheck desk through google reverse image analysis confirmed the following about the photos after identifying the first place it was uploaded on the internet.

a. The photos were first uploaded by Turkish news outlet, ULUSAL

b. The photos were taken at the Adana Havalimani Airport in the city of Hatay, one of the worst hit by the February 6 earthquake

c. The airline in question was Turkish Airlines flight TK 2461

d. The body was received by Atsu’s relations and Ghana’s ambassador to Turkey

e. It has since been flown to the capital Istanbul from where it will be flown to Accra

The footballer was an employee of Hatayspor and was caught in the earthquake of February 6. His remains were found on February 18 after 12 days of intense search.

Atsu’s death was confirmed by his manager Nana Sechere who was himself in Turkey to help with the rescue efforts as well as his club side Hatayspor.

About Christian Atsu

Christian Atsu was born in Ada Foah in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana on January 10, 1992.

In an earlier interview with Goal.com Christian Atsu revealed that money was hard to come by while growing up. He once said that losing his father in tragic circumstances made life even more difficult for his family.

Atsu in 2013, made it big when Chelsea came calling after he was identified as a long-term prospect.

Chelsea paid £3.5 million to FC Porto and signed Christian Atsu, who was subsequently loaned to Vitesse Arnhem, Everton, AFC Bournemouth, and Málaga.

Atsu after signing for Chelsea started enjoying the football money and at Newcastle, he was reportedly earning £32,000 weekly and which made him one of the richest Ghanaian footballers from 2016.

In September 2022, Christian Atsu joined Hatayspor as a free agent and reported taking close to $500,000 as a signing-on bonus.