Former Chelsea and Newcastle winger Christian Atsu is believed to be trapped under the rubble of a destroyed building following a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Turkey.
More than 1,600 people have been killed and thousands injured after the catastrophic earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria overnight, destroying neighborhoods as families slept.
As various media outlets in Turkey are reporting, a search and rescue operation is currently underway for Ghanaian international Atsu, who switched to Turkish Süper Lig club Hatayspor last summer.
Two of his teammates and members of the coaching staff were reportedly pulled from the rubble, although Atsu, who scored a dramatic late winner for his club on Sunday, is still missing.
The 31-year-old joined Chelsea in 2013 but never played a mandatory minute for the club, having spent several seasons on loan at Everton and Newcastle.
Christian Atsu is believed to be stuck under rubble after an earthquake of 7.8 on the Richter scale
More than 1,400 people have been killed and thousands injured after the earthquake in Turkey and Syria – with a second 7.5 tremor just hours after the first
Newcastle posted a social media message saying they were “praying for good news”.
Atsu’s latest post on Twitter followed his club’s 1-0 win on Sunday, in which the 31-year-old scored the winner in the seventh minute of added time.
Although he only played five games for Everton, he impressed enough on loan at Newcastle to make a permanent move to the Magpies.
In total, he made 107 appearances for the club and scored eight goals before joining Saudi Arabia’s Al-Raed in 2021.
Newcastle posted a picture of Atsu on social media while he was at the club and said they were “praying for good news”.
Atsu came on for Hatayspor on Sunday and scored in the seventh minute of added time in their 1-0 win over Kasimpasa.
In a post after the game, he wrote: “Important win for the team. Happy to be on the leaderboard.’
The earthquake hit hard on Kahramanmaras where Hatayspor is located.
Hatayspor player Onur Ergun posted an Instagram story in response to previous posts that he misses and suggests were wrong.
“Thanks to everyone who called and asked,” says the midfielder. “The news is not true. I’m doing well.
Atsu also played for Chelsea, although he spent most of his time at the club on loan
A search and rescue mission is underway to find people trapped under the rubble
“I can’t answer the phone because there is a network problem. Get well soon for all of us.’
Yeni Malatyaspor’s Turkey goalkeeper Ahmed Turkaslan is also missing.
The club’s assistant manager İlhan Var said: “We still haven’t found our goalkeeper Ahmet Eyup Turkaslan. There are no signs at the moment. His wife came out and described where he could be.”
The wife of Hatayspor manager Volkan Demirel has shared a tearful message following a massive aftershock that hit southern Turkey 7.5 hours after the original earthquake struck.
“Hatay is in very bad shape,” said Zeynep Sever Demirel said in a video shared on social media. Some of their friends are said to be still trapped under the rubble, with fears that other footballers could also be affected by the disaster.
Consequently Haber GlobalMarasspor footballers may have stayed in a hotel that was destroyed by the earthquake.
Among the other missing Turkish athletes are 14 volleyball players from the Hatay team, national handball player Cemal Kutahya and Hatayspor coach Savas Yukse.
Olympic gold medalist Taha Akgul said about 30 to 40 wrestlers from a team in Kahramanmaras were also trapped under the debris.
Source link
Elizabeth Cabrera is an author and journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest news and trends, Elizabeth is dedicated to delivering informative and engaging articles that keep readers informed on the latest developments.
