Children from Singapore football academy stranded in Turkey
The coup in Turkey has caused children, coaches and parents from Fandi Ahmad's F-17 Academy to be stranded in Turkey's Antalya airport.
A Turkish Airline flight carrying the team of 21 was diverted from Istanbul to the southern city of Antalya after the overnight coup erupted.
The team - comprising 13 children, two coaches and six parents - left Singapore at 10pm on Friday night.
Currently they have been stranded at the airport's Terminal 2 since landing at around 10am (Singapore time), a spokesman from the academy told The New Paper.
"Nobody seems to be attending to them there," the spokesman added.
"It's even worse because now they are trying to transfer to Terminal 1 because of the overcrowding. They may require the team to stay overnight there."
The children are aged between 8 and 14.
The team was supposed catch a connecting flight to Copenhagen before heading to Gothenburg, Sweden for the Gothia World Youth Cup 2016.
F-17 Academy posted on their Facebook page that they are "desperately trying to reach Turkish Airlines but to no avail".
"We plead for assistance from anyone who can help get our kids out of Turkey asap."
The spokesman told TNP: "Our coaches are frantically trying to get the children out of there as soon as possible but the focus is on flights leaving from Istanbul and Ankara."
The hope is that they will still get to Gothemburg to take part in what is regarded as the biggest and best youth tournament.
The team have been training a lot in anticipation of the event.
On Friday, a section of the Turkish military claimed to have taken over power.
Explosions and gunfire had been reported in the cities of Ankara and Istanbul, while overnight clashes in Ankara have left at least 42 dead. Forces loyal to the Turkish president say they have put down the attempted coup and 336 people were arrested.
The New Paper understands that MFA is in contact with Singaporeans stranded at the Atalantya airport and is offering them consular assistance.
Embassy of the Republic of Singapore in Ankara
Tel: + 90 530 066 7311
Email: singemb_ank@mfa.sg
MFA Duty Office
Tel: +65 6379 8800 / 8855
Email: mfa_duty_officer@mfa.gov.sg
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