Nilay Aydogan dead at 30: Basketball player tragically killed in Turkey earthquake after ‘going to visit grandmother’

TURKISH basketball player Nilay Aydogan has been found dead following last week’s devastating earthquake.

The 30-year-old played for Turkish Super League side Cankaya University.

Twitter / @hidoturkoglu15Nilay Aydogan has been found dead following last week’s devastating earthquake[/caption]

The tragedy happened while Aydogan went to visit her grandmother in Malayta.

Aydogan’s grandmother’s apartment complex collapsed as the earthquake struck.

The basketball player and her grandmother were found dead among the rubble.

In a statement, the Turkish Basketball Federation said: “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.

“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, close to the border with Syria. 

The search is continuing in hundreds of Turkish and northern Syrian settlements to try and find people still alive, with the death toll now at 33,000.

Aydogan’s final game for Cankaya came in a victory against Hatayspor days before the earthquake struck. 

The basketball player is the latest high profile sports star to be affected by the earthquake.

The search goes on for ex-Premier League star Christian Atsu.

Hatayspor ace Atsu went missing following the earthquake last week and is yet to be found despite some reports stating he had been found and was in hospital.