ПРОГРАМИ
en de ru fr es sr gr al tr ro
Podcast in English
Share
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Strahil Popov from Istanbul: The situation in Hatay is really tragic

Strahil Popov (left) playing for Hatayspor
Photo: Archive

Ümraniyespor defender Strahil Popov is one of the two Bulgarian footballers who play in the Turkish football championship. Until December 2021, he was part of the Hatayspor team based in the city of Antakya, Hatay province. The Hatay province has been the hardest hit by the devastating earthquake that rocked Turkey yesterday. The victims so far reportedly exceed 5,000.

The Bulgarian footballer tells the Bulgarian news agency BTA how he feels and what people in the country are going through.

"I'm fine, I live in Istanbul. Everything is normal here, but in Hatay it's a real tragedy. I personally have never seen and never imagined such a tragedy. I don't know if other people have seen such a thing," admitted Strahil Popov.

"I played for two years in Hatayspor, so I have a lot of acquaintances and friends there. Fortunately, none of my friends there, teammates, relatives and acquaintances have been injured. I talked a lot with the translator of the team, with whom I am in contact. He told me that his apartment is unusable - walls, floor - everything has huge cracks," adds the 32-year-old footballer.

According the media reports, the city of Antakya has been almost half destroyed. The Bulgarian footballer with the most serious experience in the Turkish championship adds: 

"There are two big problems. The first is that there are not enough rescuers and there are not enough teams to pull people out from the rubble. The territory is huge, and the number of rescuers is insufficient. The second problem is that only one of the hospitals in the city remained unharmed and is working at full capacity. The rest of the medical facilities are either unable to receive people, or they work with extremely limited options. This makes the situation downright tragic for such a large city and region. A real apocalypse, a great disaster."

Residents in the Hatay province warm themselves by an open fire. The region is among the most hard hit areas in the devastating earthquake.
"I'm sure there will be charity campaigns to help the victims, but essential goods are still being sought. Aid will be collected, there is no doubt", Popov said.
Yesterday's matches from the Turkish football championship were cancelled, including Ümraniyespor with Strahil Popov against Adana Demirspor.

Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.
Radio Bulgaria Life    footballer Istanbul Strahil Popov Ümraniyespor

More from category

Military brass bands parade in Veliko Tarnovo

Veliko Tarnovo hosts the 17 th International Festival of Military Brass Bands, the organizers from the Municipality of Veliko Tarnovo announced. This year, the festival will feature the Romanian Navy Military Band, the Guards Representative Brass..

published on 9/21/24 8:45 AM
Photo: Association for Antiquity Reconstruction

Ancient festival in Sofia recreates the era of Emperor Constantius II

Guests and residents of Sofia will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the period of Late Antiquity and the reign of Emperor Constantius II, son of Constantine the Great. The reenactment is organized on September 21 and 22 by the Association..

published on 9/21/24 7:55 AM

Festival of homemade cheese takes place in the Bulgarian village of Cherni Vit

For the fourth year in a row, in the village of Cherni Vit near Teteven, a festival of homemade cheese is being organized, the BNR correspondent in Lovech, Plamen Hristov, has reported. The opening is at 10 a.m. In addition to home-made cheese..

published on 9/21/24 6:10 AM

WEATHER
Pick city: Sofía
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 8 | Max: 18
Occasional showers
Min: 14 | Max: 17
Rain
Min: 13 | Max: 15
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 9 | Max: 19
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 10 | Max: 17
Overcast, rain
Min: 10 | Max: 15
Overcast, rain
Min: 9 | Max: 14
Overcast, rain
Min: 10 | Max: 11
Overcast, rain
Min: 10 | Max: 16
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 7 | Max: 15
Overcast, rain
Min: 8 | Max: 16
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 10 | Max: 18
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 9 | Max: 18
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 7 | Max: 12
Overcast, rain
Min: 9 | Max: 17
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 10 | Max: 19
Thunderstorms
Min: 10 | Max: 12
Overcast, rain
Min: 11 | Max: 12
Overcast, rain
Min: 10 | Max: 12
Overcast, rain
Min: 11 | Max: 16
Overcast, rain
Min: 4 | Max: 9
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 8 | Max: 13
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 12 | Max: 17
Thunderstorms
Min: 11 | Max: 12
Overcast, rain
Min: 11 | Max: 17
Thunderstorms
Min: 10 | Max: 11
Overcast, rain
Min: 12 | Max: 15
BULGARIA IN PICTURES
Which world-famous Bulgarian artist designed QSL cards for Radio Bulgaria?
Yasen Gyuzelev
Theodore Ushev
Christo Javacheff - Christo
Ilia Peikov
Lika Yanko

BULGARIANS ABROAD

Български English Русский Deutsch Српски Français Ελληνικά Español Shqip Türkçe Română
MOST VIEWED

Pets and their owners march in a parade in Ruse

People’s best friends will parade today at the Pet Parade in Ruse's Youth Park. All dogs, cats, rabbits, hedgehogs, lizards, turtles,..

published on 9/29/24 7:15 AM

Razlog Cultural Community Centre celebrates 115 years with "A Walk through the Past"

The Bulgarian "chitalishte", a cultural community center, is a unique institution that has preserved the spirituality and traditions of the Bulgarian..

published on 9/29/24 5:05 AM

english@bnr.bg

+359 2 9336 661

Общи условия за използване на сайта | Политика за поверителност | Политика за "бисквитки"