An 18-year-old Italian volleyball player of Nigerian descent, Julia Ituma, has tragically died after falling from a hotel window just hours after her team was eliminated from the Champions League semi-finals. Ituma was discovered dead at her hotel in Istanbul, Turkey, on Thursday morning, April 13, following her team’s loss.
Ituma was a rising star in the volleyball world and was known as the “next big thing.” She had been representing her team, Igor Gorgonzola Novara, in their second-leg knockout match against Turkish side Eczacibasi Dynavit Istanbul, where she had scored two points despite their defeat. The Italian consulate in Turkey stated that they were working closely with Turkish officials and were assisting Ituma’s family.
According to CNN, Ituma was discovered motionless on the ground outside the Valley Hotel at around 5.30am on Thursday. She was pronounced dead shortly after paramedics and emergency responders arrived at the scene.