Ex-Hanover pro, now in Turkey
Basdas breaks his foot while escaping from the earthquake
2/6/2023, 7:33 p.m
The tremors in south-east Turkey cost thousands of lives. A Cologne-born ex-Hannover 96 professional who is currently active as a professional in the city of Malatya jumps from the 2nd floor of a building in the face of the shock waves. He survives injured. A teammate is still under rubble.
Former Hannover 96 professional Baris Basdas is one of the several thousand injured after the severe earthquake in Turkey. This was confirmed by his advisor Serdar Topcu.
Born in Cologne, Basdas has been playing for the Turkish second division club Yeni Malatyaspor since February 2022. According to his adviser, the 33-year-old jumped out of the window of his room, which is on the second floor of his club’s training ground, early Monday morning after the first tremors. Several Malatyaspor players stay there again and again.
Consultant: “It’s below zero”
“He broke his foot and has problems with his shoulder,” said Topcu, who keeps in touch with his client by phone. “It’s below zero there, there’s snow. But the players sit outside on the club’s training ground because that’s where they feel safest. Nobody dares go inside anymore because of the many aftershocks.” The medical examination at Basdas was also “quick, quick,” said his adviser. There are currently too few doctors in the city for several hundred injured people.
The weather is also a problem: snow blows around a collapsed mosque in Malatya on the morning of the disaster.
(Photo: picture alliance/dpa/DIA Images/AP)
“He says he feels like he’s in a war zone,” Topcu explained in conversation with RTL. “His toes are 100% broken, he can’t step, he can’t walk, he can’t get away.” His protégé is now trying “somehow to get out” of Malatya, “to Germany or to Istanbul,” says Topcu. He is in contact with Basdas, but keeps disconnecting.
The 33-year-old Baris Basdas (Turkish spelling: Barış Başdaş) was born in Cologne and trained as a footballer at FC and Alemannia Aachen. In the 2020/21 season, the central defender played for Hannover 96 in the 2nd Bundesliga. In Turkey he was already active for several clubs.
Basdas teammate under rubble
Like the current club of the ex-Hanover pro announced, goalkeeper and teammate Eyüp Türkaslan was buried under rubble in Malatya. His wife and their child could be saved, the search for the 28-year-old professional has not been successful so far, but continues.
Thousands of people have died after the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Thousands of buildings collapsed in the tremors in south-east Turkey alone. Videos on Turkish TV and social media show incredible images, such as people filming a building collapse in Malatya, the town where Basdas is a footballer. According to official figures, thousands of buildings across the country collapsed.