Czech Republic footballer Josef Sural killed in auto crash in Turkey

Josef Sural was killed and six other Alanyaspor players were injured Monday when their van crashed on the way home from a Turkish league soccer match.

Josef Sural of Czech Republic died, and six other Alanyaspor players were injured after their van was involved in an auto accident at the town of Alanya, on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, on their way home from a game in Turkey’s top-tier soccer league. (Source: AP)

Czech Republic international Josef Sural was killed and six other Alanyaspor players were injured Monday when their van crashed on the way home from a Turkish league soccer match.

The 28-year-old Sural died in the hospital during emergency surgery, Alanyaspor president Hasan Cavusoglu told NTV television by telephone.

The six other players were reported to be in stable condition.

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Cavusoglu said Sural and his six teammates hired a private luxury van to return from a game at Kayserispor in central Turkey. The crash occurred near the entrance to the town of Alanya, on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.

Cavusoglu said the driver of the van was being questioned by police.

“Our pain is huge,” Cavusoglu said.

State-run Anadolu Agency said the van veered off the road and overturned. It identified the injured players as Wanderson Baiano, Steven Caulker, Isaac Sackey, Papiss Demba Cisse, Welinton Souza and Djalma Campos.

Cavusoglu later told CNN-Turk television that the injured players had “small fractures and cuts.”

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He said Sural’s wife rushed to the hospital where he informed her of the player’s death. Sural had two young daughters, he said.

Sural, a forward who made his debut for the Czech Republic national team in 2013, joined Alanyaspor in January.

The Turkish soccer federation said a minute’s silence would be observed for Sural at the start of this week’s league games.