Several Turkish media are reporting that Black Stars striker Christian Atsu, who plays for Hatayspor in Turkey, is among the thousands left behind in the rubble of the devastating earthquake on Monday morning in that country.
The 30-year-old, along with club manager Taner Savut, are said to be the subject of search by the search and rescue team.
Atsu was in action for the club this weekend when they beat Kasimpasa in the Turkish top flight with the Ghanaian’s only goal.
Background.
A powerful earthquake struck southeastern Turkey near the Syrian border, killing more than 1,000 people as they slept and many more trapped in the early hours of Monday.
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The US Geological Survey said the 7.8 magnitude shake struck at 04:17 local time (01:17 GMT) at a depth of 17.9 km (11 miles) near the city of Gaziantep.
A few hours later, a second earthquake of magnitude 7.5 struck Elbistan district in Kahramanmaras province.
So far, more than 900 people have died in Turkey and 500 in Syria.
Last September, the 30-year-old Black Star signed a 1-year contract to join the Turkish team after playing for Saudi Arabia.
Affected members of Hatayspor team
Two Hatayspor players, Burak Öksüz and Bertuğ Yıldırım, were rescued from the wreckage and are in good health.
Ekrem Ekşioğlu and Osman Ateş, members of the engineering team, were also found and are in good condition.
Speaking on the matter, Turkish journalist, Kadir Onur Dincer, told Joy Sports, “There was a big earthquake in Turkey last night and the magnitude of the earthquake was 7.7 and 11 cities were affected and one of them is Hatay, located in the south of the country.
“Two Hatayspor footballers were pulled out of the wreckage but one of them is believed to be still under the rubble in Hatay city and it was Christian Atsu.
He scored a goal in the last game. of the club [Sunday] but today, according to information, it is currently not possible to contact Atsu
“Rescue teams are trying to find him at the moment.”
Source: myjoyonline.com