Ikhsan Fandi rattled by quake, but safe in Chile
Chile was hit by a powerful 8.3-magnitude earthquake early on Thursday morning (Sept 17, Singapore time), triggering the evacuation of around 1 million people from its coastal areas.
Even though the epicentre in Illapel was more than 200km away from the South American nation's capital of Santiago, the effects of the tremors were felt by one of Singapore's brightest young footballing talents Ikhsan Fandi.
The 16-year-old son of Singapore's favourite footballing son Fandi Ahmad, who was back in Singapore recently for the Lion City Cup in August, is currently learning his trade with Chilean side Universidad Catolica.
While Chile is an earthquake hotspot because it is located on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" that accounts for much of the planet's quake and volcanic activity, Ikhsan clearly didn't take too well to the tremors as he tweeted:
Despite the scare, the youngster made it through the ordeal unharmed.
Speaking to ONE FM 91.3, Ikhsan, who scored a perfect hat-trick against Liverpool's Under-15 side for the Singapore U16s at the Lion City Cup, said his club training sessions are likely to go on as per normal despite the severity of the quake.
He said: "This one was different. I went out into the streets and I think people were really worried.
"Usually, Chileans are quite used to the earthquakes and tremors.
"In my area right now, it's all clear so I'm not sure what they've done. But I'm sure that in the coastal areas, they're being evacuated.
"I think (club training) will proceed as normal."
Ikhsan's older brother Irfan, 18, is also contracted to Universidad Catolica's academy side but is currently here in Singapore recuperating from surgery after his exploits at the South-east Asian Games.
The latest quake has claimed five lives so far and generated tsunamis measuring 4.5m high. It also caused a blackout in Chile's Coquimbo region.
Photos from a shopping mall in the city of La Serena gave an indication of the kind of property damage caused by the quake.
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