Several members of the Turkish VALORANT community are calling for help from the authorities as a professional player is reportedly trapped under rubble following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria yesterday.
Turkish VALORANT professional player Gizem “Luie” Harmankaya, who played for the UnknownPros Female team, was not responding to those looking to contact her, as reported yesterday by Dot Esports.
Luie lived in the Kahramanmaraş region of Turkey, which was struck by the 7.8 earthquake. The disaster has killed more than 5,000 people at the time of publication with the death toll continuing to rise, according to BBC News.
Today, however, unconfirmed statements online suggested Luie has been found but is trapped under rubble from a collapsed building. “Her boyfriend Doğukan touched [her] or something, she didn’t get a reaction and her body is cold, please, can the teams GET HELP NOW?” according to Selin Tok on Twitter.
A Turkish VALORANT player who has monitored the situation told Dot Esports that Luie is not responding to calls for help from those on-site.
An image has circulated online that appears to show a hand under the rubble, which has been shared extensively (Warning: The image in question is graphic, and viewer discretion is advised). Dot Esports cannot confirm whether this is Luie in the image.
Others online have said Luie has been awaiting help from authorities for over 36 hours.
Update Feb. 8 9:12am CT: Luie has been confirmed dead, according to an announcement from UnknownPros.
If you’re looking to donate to support those affected by the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, you can visit UNICEF’s website.
Published: Feb 7, 2023 09:53 am