Soccer player Christian Atsu still missing after reports he was found alive in rubble of Turkey earthquake
The search for Ghanaian footballer Christian Atsu continues after reports that he was found alive in the ruins of a catastrophic earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria.
Atsu, who plays for Turkish club Hatayspor, went missing on Monday along with the club’s sporting director, Taner Savut, hours after the earthquake. It was assumed that they are in the ruins of a collapsed building in the Turkish province of Hatay.
Hatayspor Vice President Mustafa Ozat told Turkish media on Tuesday that Atsu was found alive and dug out of the rubble. but Savut has not yet been found. The Ghana Football Association also tweeted the good news about Atsu, indicating that he was injured and “in treatment”. No further information has been released about his injuries or treatment.
According to Atsu’s agent, Nana Sechere, these reports were misinformed. On Wednesday, Sechere posted a statement on Twitter that Atsu was still missing.
“Following the club’s announcement yesterday that Christian was pulled out alive, we have yet to confirm his whereabouts,” Sécher wrote. “As you can imagine, this is still a difficult time for his family and we are doing everything we can to find Christian.”
Atsu, 31, has been with Hatayspor since September 2022. Prior to that, he played 107 games for Newcastle and spent time with Everton and Chelsea. Hatayspor director Volkan Demirel confirmed Sechere’s information. via Reuters on Wednesday.
“There is no information about his whereabouts yet, we don’t know where he is,” Demirel said. “It’s not that he was dragged out or taken somewhere else.”
The first earthquake hit at 4:17 am local time on Monday and measured 7.8 on the Richter scale, nearly leveling several cities in Turkey and Syria. Nine hours later, a massive aftershock of magnitude 7.5 hit the same area. The death toll stands at 5,100, according to Reuters, and is expected to continue to rise.
The earthquake was so strong that it was felt almost 300 miles from the epicenter. It was the strongest earthquake in Turkey since 1939, when a 7.7 magnitude quake killed more than 32,000 people.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
