Alanyaspor forward Josef Sural dies in van crash

The Czech international passed away after the private luxury van he was in was involved in a traffic accident.

Alanyaspor forward Josef Sural has succumbed to his injuries following a horrific vehicular accident, the Turkish football club confirmed on Monday morning.

A private van carrying seven of Alanyaspor’s players as they returned from an away fixture against Kayserispor in the early hours of Monday morning lost control and flipped multiple times after the two drivers of the vehicle fell asleep, according to the club’s chairman Hasan Cavusoglu.

“According to the information I have received from the police, there were two drivers. Both of them fell asleep which led to the incident,” Cavusoglu said.

The drivers of the van have been detained and questioned by police.

The luxury van was rented in Kayseri by seven Alanyaspor players following their Super Lig clash with Kayserispor in the Kayseri province on Sunday.

As the van was approaching Alanya, the resort town where the club is based, the two drivers are reported to have fallen asleep which caused the vehicle to go off the road and and overturn thereby injuring everyone inside the vehicle.

The accident is reported to have taken place at around 2:30 AM approximately 5 kilometers outside of the city center.

All seven players inside the van — Steven Caulker, Djalma Campos, Wanderson Baiano, Papis Cisse, Isaac Sackey, Welinton Souza and Josef Sural — were rushed to a nearby hospital. Sural was the only one with life-threatening injuries.

Doctors immediately operated on the Czech player but he succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.

Alanyaspor’s team doctor, Ismail Yetkin, revealed the cause of death to be due to hemorrhage (internal bleeding) and hypothermic shock. Sural is reported to have suffered a traumatic blow to the head and had fracture in various parts of his body including both lower extremities.

The rest of the players are reported to be in stable condition with minor non-life-threatening injuries.

Isaac Sackey suffered a fractured arm while Welinton Souza suffered a concussion and swollen head.

Sural, who was married, leaves behind a wife and two daughters, one of which is a two-and-a-half month old baby.

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) paid their respects to the Czech international and announced that a minute of silence will be observed before all professional games scheduled between April 29 and May 6 as a tribute to the deceased player.

The 28-year-old transferred to Alanyaspor from Czech giants Sparta Praha in January 2019 for €160,000.