Rescue teams are searching under the rubble for Ghanaian Christian Atsu, player of the Turkish club “Hatayspor”, and a number of his missing colleagues under the rubble of buildings after the catastrophe of the earthquake that struck Turkey, on Monday morning.
The Ghanaian star, who previously played for English clubs Chelsea and Newcastle, was caught up in the 7.9-magnitude earthquake, and reports indicate that he and a number of his teammates have not been contacted yet.
Among those missing was Hatayspor sporting director Taner Savut, while players and other members of the coaching staff were pulled from the rubble in a dramatic rescue operation.
Atsu, 31, joined the Turkish club from Saudi Arabia’s Al-Raed last summer.
Officially, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the death toll from the earthquake had reached 912, stressing that the highest priority for the intervention teams is to rescue the victims from under the rubble.
Loss of an international player in Syria
Among the player losses that were reported among the victims of the earthquake that struck Syria, next to Turkey, was the death of the former Syrian international, Nader Jokhadar, at the age of 45, as a result of the collapse of the building in which he lived in the coastal city of Jableh, according to what the Syrian Football Association announced.
The Federation wrote on its official Facebook account: “The Syrian Arab Football Federation extends its deepest condolences to the family of the former Syrian national team star, Nader Jokhadar, and to the families of the victims of the devastating earthquake that struck the country at dawn on Monday, and wishes a speedy recovery to all the injured.”
Jokhadar occupied the attacking position with Al-Wathba Club, then played professionally with Al-Faisaly and the Jordanian Al-Wehdat until the end of his career in 2008.
