Ghanaian football player Christian Atsu was rescued alive from the rubble of the terrible earthquake in Turkey. He was rescued from the southern province of Hatay in Turkey. The Ghanaian ambassador confirmed the news today.
Yesterday, Monday, at 4:17 am local time in Turkey, a terrible earthquake occurred in Turkey. The epicenter of the earthquake was near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, which borders Syria. The death toll from this earthquake in Turkey and Syria has exceeded 4,800. Former Newcastle United midfielder Atsu left Saudi club Al Rayed to join Turkish Super League club Hatayspor last September.
Ghana’s ambassador to Turkey, Francesca Asyete-Odunton, confirmed Atsu’s survival to a radio station in Ghana’s capital Accra, saying, ‘I have good news. The president of the Ghana Football Association said that Atsu was rescued in Hatay region.
The rescue team did not release any information on Atsu’s condition, news agency AFP reported. Hatayspor club official Mustafa Ozat told the Playspor streaming channel yesterday that Atsu is trapped in the rubble of the earthquake. Trying to get out of there. Last night, Atsu won the team by scoring just before the referee blew the final whistle.
The British media Guardian previously reported that 31-year-old Atsu was in a high-rise hotel in Hatay’s Antakya area. When the building collapsed completely in the earthquake, the footballer was buried under it. The Guardian and Portuguese media A Bola reported that Atsu was rescued alive and being treated in hospital. But the vice president of Hatayspor gave different news. He told the Turkish journalist Yagiz Sabuncoglu that Atsu could not be rescued yet.
Atsu made his debut for the Ghana national team in 2012. The BBC hailed him as a ‘future asset’ and ESPN as ‘quick and tactically brilliant’. At the 2014 World Cup, Atsu played for Ghana’s XI in all matches. The 31-year-old footballer last played for Ghana in 2019. Scored 10 goals in 60 matches for the national team.
Praying for Atsu’s speedy recovery, the Ghana Football Association tweeted, “We are praying for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria and Ghanaian footballer Christian Atsu.”
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria on Monday. Many people have died in their sleep. The extremely cold weather outside also made rescue operations very difficult. Geologists consider this earthquake to be the strongest earthquake in the history of the region. The last earthquake of almost equal strength occurred in 1939 in northeastern Turkey. 30 thousand people died in service.
Fourteen players of a Turkish university’s women’s volleyball team were trapped under a collapsed building in the earthquake. The country’s football federation has suspended all Turkish Super League matches due to the earthquake.
