By Michael Madyira
In the early hours of 6 February 2023, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake ravaged parts of Turkey and Syria.
About 54,000 people lost their lives, mostly in Turkey.
On that devastating morning, former Bafana Bafana forward Dino Ndlovu was in the city of Bolu, north of Turkey.
He was about 900 km from the epicentre of the earthquake in Sehitkamil, Gaziantep Province in the south-central part of the country.
“I’m far away from the area,” Ndlovu told Scrolla. Africa. “It’s probably two hours by flight and more than 12 hours by road.”
But he still felt the tremors that shook the transcontinental country and the Boluspor striker painted a picture of a strange morning.
“To be honest I didn’t panic. I was just shocked,” said Ndlovu.
“I felt it but not as much as the affected city. It was minimal [in Bolu]. I didn’t realise that Turkey was hit by an earthquake. Only when I got to training when they told us there was no training.
“I started to ask guys what was going on but you could sense something big had happened and they explained to me about the earthquake.”
This is the fateful incident that plunged African football into mourning as Chelsea and Ghana winger Christian Atsu was one of the casualties.
It also claimed family members of a friend of Ndlovu.
“I have a friend whose family comes from Gaziantep,” he said.
“Most of his father’s family members are okay but from his mother’s side, people died. They couldn’t find some family members.”
Football activities have resumed in Turkey but Ndlovu describes the mood as still sombre in Turkey.
“There’s still sadness and devastation,” the former SuperSport United star said.
“People are still trying to be strong and move on. I think it will take months, even a year for people to get used to this situation.”
Pictured above: Dino Ndlovu
Image source: Dino Ndlovu Instagram
