SPORTSTURKEY
Footballer Christian Atsu found alive after Turkey quake
12 hours ago12 hours ago
The Ghanaian football player has been accounted for and is receiving treatment in the hospital. Concerns over his whereabouts grew following the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday.
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Football player Christian Atsu has been pulled from the rubble of a building following Monday’s earthquake in southern Turkey, the Ghanaian Football Association said on Tuesday.
“We’ve received some positive news that Christian Atsu has been successfully rescued,” the Ghanaian Football Association wrote on Twitter. The FA added that the 31-year-old was receiving treatment.
Atsu’s former club Everton tweeted they were relieved to hear that Atsu “has been found and is recovering in hospital.”
Atsu joined the Turkish club, Hatayspor, last year, and has previously played for top English clubs Newcastle, Chelsea, Everton and Bournemouth.
The vice president of Hatayspor, Mustafa Ozat, said that while Atsu was pulled out injured, “our sporting director, Taner Savut, is unfortunately still under the rubble.”
Atsu scored a last-minute winning goal in Hatayspor’s most recent game on Sunday, a day before the earthquake struck.
The devastating earthquake in Turkey
Officials said as a many as 1,500 buildings were destroyed in the Hatay province, which lies close to the epicenter of Monday’s earthquake.
The unusually powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake and its aftershocks that struck southern Turkey and northern Syria on Monday has already claimed more than 6,000 lives, with thousands others injured.
Rescue workers are racing against time to pull more people out of the rubble, as Turkish President recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces for three months.
rm/rt (Reuters, AFP, AP)
