in the aftermath of the tragic earthquake in Turkey and Syria where the death toll tops 7,100 as more victims are found, three Iranian footballers playing professionally in Turkey’s Malatyaspor Kulübü have not heard of since the massive quake hit southeastern Turkey.

The three athletes are handicapped and represent Iran at international levels.

 Yeni Malatyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club based in Malatya, Turkey. The club plays in the TFF First League, which is the second tier of football in the country.

The Minister of Sports and Youth demanded an immediate follow-up on the matter. Seyed Hamid Sajjadi told the Sports Federation of Veterans and the Disabled and the office Foreign relations office, the Ministry of Sports and Youth has a mission to follow up on the situation of these athletes through the available channels with urgency. According to this report, Mohammad Reza Mirahmadi, Mehdi Saeedavi, and Hamed Matroudi are three Iranian footballers, who have not been heard from since the tragic earthquake in Turkey.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Shervin Esbaghian, the head of the Veteran and Handicapped Sports Federation (Special Needs federation)  said on the sidelines about the Iranian soccer legionnaires who are Handicapped ” there is no news about them since last night, as our international relations department has been in communication with the Turkish federation seeking news. They are also persistent and the city where these players were present has suffered major damage, despite our efforts, sadly there is no definite news about their condition. They informed us that their mobile phones are on and ringing, but no one is answering. I hope they have survived that ordeal and come back home soon. The federation will follow up and if we receive any news, we will inform you as soon as we have any news.”