Canadians Adekugbe, Hutchinson recount experiences of earthquake in Turkey

Hatayspor defender and Canadian national team member Sam Adekugbe was at home Monday following his team’s win 1-0 win over Kasimpasa in the Turkish Super League. Trying to wind down after the game, he’d just had some teammates over and was in the middle of cleaning up when he felt the room start to shake.

Cups and plates were thrown around the kitchen. His TV fell over and a candle he’d lit spilled onto the carpet. In the midst of all the chaos, Adekugbe, who originally thought he was having a panic attack, realized what was happening. But it wasn’t until he went outside and saw the damage did it become apparent he was right in the middle of one of the strongest earthquakes of the century.

More than 12,000 people are reported killed with thousands more injured after a horrific earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria Monday in the middle of the night. Adekugbe and fellow Canadian national Atiba Hutchinson – also playing in Turkey with Istanbul-based Besiktas – spoke to TSN Senior Correspondent Rick Westhead about their experiences from the tragedy, the aftermath and how people can assist in rescue efforts.

“Once I was able to blow out the candle I just ran outside my house and everyone was outside. It was lightning, it was pouring rain and I just saw splits in the roads. I just ran to security at the entrance of the neighbourhood I stay in and everybody was just kind of there and freaking out and yelling,” Adekugbe said.

Hutchinson wasn’t in the affected region at the time and said he found out about the tragedy when Adekugbe called him in the middle of the night.

“When I woke up in the morning just to see what had taken place in his city in particular and the spread of it, the places that it had touched and affected, how many people had been hurt, lost their lives. It was hard for me to obviously learn of this,” Hutchinson said.

“I’ve been in Turkey a very long time, just to see what this is doing to the country and obviously to Syria as well. I don’t know, it’s hard when you get information like that and you see how much it’s hurt people and what it’s done to the country.”

Adekugbe drove to his team’s training facility that night. He said that’s where he saw just how devastated his team’s city of Antakya was.

“Buildings completely collapsed, there’s roads that are divided, there’s fires, there’s people yelling, people crying, things you’d thought you never see in your lifetime. Things you kind of see in movies,” he said.

He was able to get in contact with his family early that morning when he managed to gain access to internet and let them know he was doing okay. But Adekugbe is one of the lucky ones.

Adekugbe’s Hatayspor teammate Christian Atsu remains missing more than two days after the earthquake first hit. Adekugbe and the rest of the team has spent time looking for the 31-year-old Ghanaian national but haven’t received any information yet on his whereabouts. Adekugbe also said other members associated with the club remain unaccounted for.

“When I just think about the direct personnel I’m associated with, our sporting director [Taner Savut] is still missing. One of my teammates, Christian Atsu, a guy that I was with that evening at my home is still unaccounted for, I think people who also help the team. People who work in the kitchen, people who work around the training facility. These are people who are maybe not known to many people but are still unaccounted for. And we just pray and wish them safety.”

Adekugbe and other Hatasypor players were able to travel to Istanbul where they continue to assist in rescue and recovery efforts. Adekugbe is currently staying with Hutchinson.

Both players represented Canada internationally at last year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Adekugbe, whose family moved to Calgary from England when he was 10 years old, joined Hatayspor in the summer of 2021. Hutchinson, from Brampton, Ont., has been with Besiktas for the last decade.

Both players insisted that help is urgently needed and urged Canadians to pitch in through the Red Cross or a Turkish organization called Ahbap, which is helping with relief efforts on the ground.  

“We’ve been in contact with Red Cross. I think everything we can possibly do to give these people a helping hand. And obviously the faster we can do it the better it is because there are still people in need. The weather is extremely cold here right now. All the kind of help we can get right now from Canada. We all know that Canadians are always very willing to help in these types of circumstances,” Hutchinson said.