The Ghanaian international soccer player, Christian Atsu, is under the rubble as a result of the devastating earthquake that struck southeastern Turkey, northern Syria, and claimed the lives of at least 3,600 people, in a toll that is expected to rise, according to what was announced by the vice-president of the Turkish club Hatayspor, in which the former English player plays for Newcastle. .
The winger (31 years old) joined last September from the Saudi Al-Raed team to Hatayspor, in which Taner Safwat occupies the position of sports director.
“Taner Safwat and Christian Atsu are still under the rubble,” Vice President Mustafa Ezzat told Turkey’s Playspor channel on YouTube.
“They are trying to escape,” he said.
For its part, the Ghana Football Association said on its Twitter account, “We pray for Ghana international player Christian Atsu and the earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria. We are continuing our efforts to communicate with officials of Hatayspor and the Turkish Football Federation due to the difficult situation.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Christian Atsu and our brothers and sisters in Turkey and Syria. We remain hopeful for positive news,” he added.
For his part, Ghanaian President Nana Afoko-Addo said on Twitter, “Our prayers and hearts are with the survivors, and we pray that our Ghanaian citizen, Christian Atsu, will be found safe and sound.”
Atsu spent five seasons in Newcastle between 2016 and 2021 before moving to Saudi club Al-Raed.
“Praying for some positive news,” Newcastle wrote in a tweet.
On Sunday, hours before the earthquake, Atsu scored the winning goal for his team in the seventh minute of stoppage time from a free kick against Kasimpasa Club (1-0) in the Turkish League.
The former Porto and Malaga player tweeted after the match, “An important victory for the team. I am happy to score in the match.”
He played his last international match in September 2019, noting that he participated in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but he missed the Qatar 2022 finals.
A violent earthquake measuring 7.8 degrees struck at 4:17 a.m. Monday at local time (01:17 GMT), according to the US Geological Survey, and its epicenter was in the Pazardik region in the Turkish province of Kahramanmaraş (southeast), at a distance of 60 km. kilometers from the Syrian border.
It was followed hours later by another earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5.
